Y Gallery presents "Our Eyes Would Burn" by Hanna Whitaker-Opening Reception

OUR EYES WOULD BURN
By Hannah Whitaker
Curated by Cecilia Jurado
April 27th to May 27th 2007
Reception for the artist: Friday, April 27th from 6-9 pm

Y Gallery is pleased to present “Our Eyes Would Burn” by Hannah Whitaker, a sequence of photographs that examines natural forces with poetry and humor. Combining scientific, mystical, and animal elements, these photographs convey a sense of naïve curiosity and experimentation. The title emphasizes a common thread in many of the pictures--the notion that looking directly at something can be dangerous. So the lightheartedness of certain photographs (X-Ray Specs as fashion accessory or white rabbit as backdrop for a rainbow) is undercut by a sense of encroaching harm and the heavy sublimity of the natural world.


Hannah’s images could be considered magical in the realistic panorama usually associated with photography. This magic, originating in curiosity and the impulse to modify, takes the image beyond the mere issue of its credibility. Visually both jaunting and enamoring, Hannah’s photographs combine the unpredictability of nature with human elements, lending mental and visual cleverness to each photograph and the series as a whole.


Hannah Whitaker was born in Washington, D.C. in 1980. She received a B.A. in art from Yale University in 2002 and an MFA in photography from Bard College at the International Center of Photography in 2006, where she was awarded the ICP Director’s Award. Her work has been exhibited in group shows in New York and Philadelphia. The exhibition “Our Eyes Would Burn” at Y Gallery will be her first solo show. Hannah Whitaker lives in New York City.

For further information, please contact Y Gallery at 718.565.6285.
www.ygallerynewyork.com