Kwabena Slaughter

Kwabena Slaughter has an extensive background in both visual and performing arts and a resume that ranges from managing theater and stage design to dancing with an aerial dance company. His photographic work, which was featured in a 2010 NEW/NOW exhibition, investigates the relationship between the camera, photography and the painting traditions that proceed it. By modifying his camera to shoot directly onto long rolls of color slide film, he deconstructs not only its mechanism but also the cultural context of its making. As the artist explains, "I think of cameras, along with photographs, as cultural artifacts. In the same way that an anthropologist can look at jewelry or clothing to learn about the culture that created those things, the design of a camera and the photos it takes can tell us about the culture that created them."