Edward Bateman

American
Bio Statements Books Available More Portfolios

At Home in the West
Portfolio Introduction

Edward Bateman: Capitol Reef/Factory Butte No. 89

Edward Bateman: Dead Horse Point No. 36c

Edward Bateman: Capitol Reef/Factory Butte No. 72

Edward Bateman: Capitol Reef/Factory Butte No. 67

Edward Bateman: Grandeur to Olympus No. 872

Edward Bateman: Grandeur to Olympus No. 868

Edward Bateman: Half Dome in Winter No. 3

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Edward Bateman Bio

Awards
2018	Nature Prize at the Earth Photo, Royal Geographical Society

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Solo Exhibitions
2017	Ten Anomalies, Phillips Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2013	Forgotten Histories and Mechanical Memories, Abercrombie Gallery, Lake Charles, LA

2013	Forgotten Histories and Mechanical Memories, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR

2009	Mechanical Brides of the Uncanny., Centre for Fine Print Research, University of the West of England, Bristol UK

2007	Edward Bateman: Recent Work, Los Angeles Center For Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA

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Group Exhibitions
2020	FRACTURED, photo-eye Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

2020	DE \| MARCATION A Survey of Contemporary Photography in Utah, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT

2020	Sky Above, Earth Below; A History of Western Landscape Photography, Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Logan, UT

2019	The International Competition, Texas Photographic Society TPS 28, Coppell, TX

2019	15th Edition, Angkor Photo Festival, Cambodia

2018	Novosibirsk Graphic Art Triennial, The Novosibirsk State Art Museum, Novosibirsk, Russia

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Collections

The Victoria & Albert Museum, Knightsbridge, London

The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston, TX

Getty Research, Los Angeles, CA

Pforzheimer Collection of the New York Public Library, New York, NY

Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

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Bibliography

One Picture Book #58. Mechanical Brides of the Uncanny. Edward Bateman.. Nazraeli Press, Portland, 2009 (photo-eye Cat# TR326)

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Education
2001 - 2003	University of Utah, MFA in Photography and Digital Imaging

Favorite Photography Books

Universos, David Jiménez, (photo-eye Cat# DT705)

Because, Sophie Calle, (photo-eye Cat# ZH922)

Expired Paper, Alison Rossiter, (photo-eye Cat# DS978)

Imago Ergo Sum, Joan Fontcuberta, (photo-eye Cat# DS599S)

Sarah Charlesworth, Rochelle Steiner

Favorite Technical Photography Books

Seizing the Light. A Social & Aesthetic History of Photography, Robert Hirsch, (photo-eye Cat# ZH599)

Pandora's Camera, Joan Fontcuberta, (photo-eye Cat# ZF841S)

Photographic Possibilities. Fourth Edition, Robert Hirsch

Edward Bateman Statement

Artist Statement
Our world is immersed in light, but its physical essence is chemical. Digital photographic processes can record that illumination, but they cannot touch the wet, chemical essence which makes up life. The images in Reversing Photosynthesis were made photographically without the direct interaction of light or lenses.

Leaves absorb sunlight and convert it to sugars which they store in their structures. Removed from plants and trees, these leaves began a slow process of death. They were placed in direct contact with light sensitive photographic paper and left in total darkness for days to months to document this change. As they broke down, their stored light would slowly leak out to expose the paper and form images. This paper was then developed like traditional chemical prints.

Life is not a simple, binary process – not something that you simply have and can hold on to. It continually flows through you, in and out – until you reach the number of your days. And then it leaks back into the world from where it came. We absorb life and exude life. Like a photograph, we too are materially constructed from light made tangible and solid.

For nearly two decades, my work has used constructed and often anachronistic imagery to create alleged historical artifacts that examine our belief in the photograph as impartial witness. Although some elements in that work depict real objects, many have never had a tangible physical existence – they are three-dimensionally modeled completely inside the world of a computer. They are ghosts made of nothing more substantial than numbers.

This new series represents a return to my roots and to those of photography. While I continue to construct many of my images, these works are a new direction; one that reflects both my own aging process and mortality. For me, this is a shift from the virtual to the tangible as perhaps a way to hang onto the fleeting substance of life.

Process Statement
Leaves absorb sunlight and convert it to sugars which they store in their structures. Removed from plants and trees, these leaves began a slow process of death. They were placed in direct contact with light sensitive photographic paper and left in total darkness for days to months to document this change. As they broke down, their stored light would slowly leak out to expose the paper and form images. This paper was then developed like traditional chemical prints

Edward Bateman Books
Available from photo-eye

Featured in:

One Picture Book #58. Mechanical Brides of the Uncanny. Edward Bateman.. Nazraeli Press, Portland, 2009 (photo-eye Cat# TR326)

Favorite Monographs:

Universos, David Jiménez, (photo-eye Cat# DT705)

Because, Sophie Calle, (photo-eye Cat# ZH922)

Expired Paper, Alison Rossiter, (photo-eye Cat# DS978)

Imago Ergo Sum, Joan Fontcuberta, (photo-eye Cat# DS599)

Favorite Technical:

Seizing the Light. A Social & Aesthetic History of Photography, Robert Hirsch, (photo-eye Cat# ZH599)

Pandora's Camera, Joan Fontcuberta, (photo-eye Cat# ZF841)