William Betcher: Memento Mori

William Betcher’s work has long focused on the passage of time and the places and spaces where we meditate on life. His recent work examines mortality, ghosts, and the uncanny through an exploration of Civil War-era portraiture and the ephemeral nature of early photographic processes. Betcher merges 19th century thoughts regarding death and mourning with contemporary ideas of image and memory in haunting portraits that blur the boundary between life and death.

As photographic objects, Betcher’s memento mori are constantly evolving.  He views his work as a modern version of spirit photography, blurring the boundary between life and death, for “my fascination has been with artifacts, which are imbued with time and, in a subtle way, with ghosts. The transparencies emerged for me from this sensibility. And, since the as-found damaged toys inherently carry the memory of children playing at war. . . one might say these artifacts are accompanied by implicit ghosts.”

Please join us at an opening reception for the exhibition, Saturday, February 7, 6;00-8:00. Free and open to the public. Register here.