North Dakotan Shane Balkowitsch’s first personal camera was not an Instamatic Kodak or a point-and-shoot Nikon, but rather a large format wet plate camera. As a self-taught ‘image-maker’ and one of the fewer than 1,000 wet plate collodion artists practising around the world, Balkowitsch has fully devoted himself to mastering the obsolete photographic technology since 2012. Northern Plains Native Americans: A Modern Wet Plate Perspective presents a selection from Balkowitsch’s photographic project which aims to capture 1000 wet plate portraits of Native Americans. Following in the footsteps of Edward S. Curtis and Orlando Scott Goff, Balkowitsch pays homage to his home state and its Native American heritage and culture. His photographs highlight the dignity of his subjects, depicting them not as archetypes, but individuals of contemporary identities and historical legacies. In our image-saturated world informed by automation and digital speed, Northern Plains Native Americans offers a fresh perspective on the photographic imagination. AUTHOR: Artist Shane Balkowitsch is a self-taught large format photographer. As one of the fewer than 1,000 wet plate collodion artists practising around the world, Balkowitsch carries on the tradition of the Victorian photographic method, which dates back to the 19th century. Based in Bismarck, North Dakota, Balkowitsch established the first natural light wet plate studio constructed in the entire country in over 100 years, the Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio. His works are held in prestigious institutions, including the State Historical Society of North Dakota and the Smithsonian Institution. SELLING POINTS:
Balkowitsch is one of the fewer than 1,000 wet plate collodion artists practising around the world today
Presents a selection from Balkowitsch’s photographic project which aims to capture 1000 wet plate portraits of Native Americans
Balkowitsch established the first natural light wet plate studio constructed in the entire country in over 100 years, the Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio 1 colour, 54 b/w images
