Launie Wong Fairbairn, In the Manhattan #1, 12.5 x 15.5”
GALLERY 881
881 East Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC
Canada V6A 3Y1
gallery881.com
@gallery881_
The Nostalgic Statement of a Cibachrome Retrospective by Launie Wong Fairbairn
Opening Reception:
Saturday, June 24, 2023 from 4 - 9p
Exhibition:
June 17 - July 24, 2023
Artist Statement
Circa mid-70s images capture an idealistic, wistful, tribal and free-spirited flower power contemplation and enchantment. Shot on discontinued chrome film manipulated for random, spontaneous and abstract grain then analog printed on obsolete archival forerunner Cibachrome by the artist. Both processes fell victim to modern technology for a proclaimed practical digitization.
These 25 Cibachrome portraits (editions 1 of 1) are arranged characteristically for this exhibition. Subjects were requested to perform a discreet act accompanied with a stationary stance yet go unblinking for up to 2 minutes. Vulnerability, luminosity, and the expression of time and motion were performed through this reciprocity between subject and artist. Technical parameters exceeding the recommended limitations resulted in an excruciating effect of painterly grain. As part of the artistic process, the polyester triacetate images were clipped resulting in a flawed azo layer with black edges to indicate true inherent Cibachrome characteristics.
Artist Bio
Launie Wong Fairbairn holds an Advanced Photography Diploma from Emily Carr University of Art & Design with a postgraduate 5th year specialization in analogue colour printing. Launie was the first female graduate of Chinese descent with a degree from Emily Carr’s photography discipline. She has exhibited her work at the Helen Pitt Gallery (solo exhibition), Burnaby Art Gallery, Richmond Art Gallery, and was interviewed on Mike Winlaw’s “The Vancouver Show.”
Launie is currently co-owner of ABC photo. In her 5 decades in the photographic arts, her practice was a visual exploration and technical experimentation culminating in a photographic livelihood. She is recognized for her technical expertise as a print technician, imaging consultant, and project coordinator for esteemed photo artists on their local and international lens-based projects.
Launie’s artwork is held in private collections and can be acquired directly from Gallery 881. Please contact the gallery for additional information.
Launie Wong Fairbairn, Ambient #1, 12.5 x 15.5”