River of Silver

Traditionally, when one thinks of silver it is associated with its use in currency, bullion and the production of silverware objects. It is a material basis of economic power, the wealth of family and nation, and the basis of various historical conquests, both of human and nature. In similar ways, silver-based analog photography’s significance to the development of modern visual culture, communications, and power relations cannot be overstated. Until the development of digital imaging technology, the process of recording, reproducing, and distributing a visual account of the people, places and things that make up the world relied on the physical properties of a reaction of silver halides to light and chemical. In this way the element silver has had a major impact, not only on science and the arts, but also contributed greatly to shaping the political and social spheres of everyday life.