Chris McCaw’s unique photographic works, created by exposing silver gelatin papers directly to sunlit landscapes over several hours, continue to represent one of the most important technical achievements in the history of the medium. Over two decades, the California-based artist Chris McCaw (American, b. 1971) has perfected an inventive technique of exposing gelatin silver papers inside of his cameras, creating other-worldly, one-of-a-kind pieces that uniquely trace and sometimes re-interpret the sun’s movement. In his iconic “Sunburn” and ‘Heliograph” pieces, prolonged exposures burn and scar the photographic paper as the sun is magnified by his custom-built camera apertures. A balancing act between science and art takes place as McCaw’s compositions must account for the season, weather, and the Earth’s rotation to create his elegantly sliced landscapes. The result is an ongoing body of work that anchors his process in the history of photography earning international exhibitions and notable placement in public and private collections.
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Please scroll to the bottom of this page to see a brief biography and list of institutions who have collected works by Chris McCaw.
*Add 6" to the noted sizes below in order to calculate approximate framed dimensions.