To be “commorant,” means to occupy a space temporarily. A group exhibition running through December 7, 2018, at Klompching Gallery, Commorancy, is curated around the theme of habitation. In each of the seven contemporary photographers’ work, this theme is explored through the conduit of architecture.

Odette England presents a vintage family snapshot, most of which she has erased with sandpaper. All that is left is the trace of a building, reminiscent of England’s childhood home. “There is a sense of loss, loss of memory, loss of home, and a nostalgic yearning for reclamation,” writes the gallery in a statement.

Ben Marcin’s abstract photograph, “Brooklyn Museum,” is a composite photograph made from individual photographs that focus on the physical infrastructure of the museum. In this case, the idea of home and habitation relates to the artwork that lives within the institution’s collections.

Artifact and architectural form is utilized by Joana P. Cardozo in her approach to portraiture. The Blueprint photographs present everyday objects owned by her subjects, silhouetted against the backdrop of a floor plan of their place of residence.

In Diane Meyer’s work, nostalgia and history of place are interrupted via the intervention of the artist’s hand through hand sewing the photographs.

Boswijck, a series by Niv Rozenberg is an exploration of the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn. The gallery states, “His deconstruction of architectural facades and use of color blocking draws attention to the importance of how a neighborhood’s cultural identity is reflected within and by its built environment, which is ever changing as a result of migration and gentrification.”

The Displacment series by Krista Svalbonas documents the temporary, re-purposed buildings utilized for the short-term accommodation of displaced migrants in post-war Europe. Each photograph is overlayed by another image of handwriting—personal letters from migrants to loved ones.

David Trautrimas’s Eidolon Point presents residential structures in such a state of decay that they almost become specters or ghost-like. The dilapidated buildings are additionally transformed in post-production, confusing inside from outside, combining structures to create phantom buildings.

Commorancy
Klompching Gallery
Through December 7, 2018

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