The images in this exhibition are a reflection of American culture, an immense force that on one level is so wonderful, and on another, so misguided. Maybe not misguided, but kind of lost in its own vastness. Plastic figures found on people’s lawns. Sculptures in parks. Billboards found in different towns. I find the scenes these objects create in their environment to be . . . odd. That would be the best way to describe it.

These are “straight prints,” which do not undergo any kind of manipulation in the dark room. The images are collaboration between the camera and myself, because I really don’t know what is going to happen when I take a picture. It all happens in the camera.

The Holga is a $15 plastic camera made in China that takes 12 pictures on a roll of 120 film. It is a tool to make art. There is an underground cult following for these cameras. Artists like to call on the soft, dreamlike quality of the images it produces. The Holga gets you closer to the experience. There is no barrier separating the photographer from the outside world, because there are no controls to think about.
Jeremi Bialowas

These pieces go back a dozen years or so, to the time I was completing my graduate degree and starting to teach art at Oakton. They are traditional works in that I use materials that fine artists have used for the last few thousand years: acrylic and oil paints, and encaustics, which are hot waxes. Encaustic painting is one of the oldest forms of media for making visual language, going back to the Egyptians. I paint on everything - wood, metal, plexiglas, masonite, canvas, clothing. Anything that has archival integrity.
I think living in the world today is very challenging for young people. Think back to 100 years ago. Photography existed, but people were not inundated with images. Today you walk down the street, or you are driving in your car, and there are huge buses painted with signs. There is advertising everywhere. You have to move to a more rural area to let your eyes and mind relax, so you can invest some time in visual space.
Mark Palmeri