In the Artists Gallery…

Toni Gentilli: Selections from the Transmutation Series
(May 10-June 15th, 2014)

Through an alchemical combination of science and intuition, Toni Gentilli’s Transmutation Series synthesizes the physical aspects of photography with the metaphysics of the human condition in search of connections between her experience as a Type 1 diabetic and larger cosmic cycles of emergence and decay. At its core, this series revels in the transformative power of light and was made by mixing UV-sensitive photochemistry with insulin, sugar, and the artist’s blood in petri dishes and exposing the contents to the sun to create crystalline formations. Toni then translated these into camera-less gold-toned silver gelatin photographs, which function as multivalent metaphors evocative of recurring structures in the natural world and the replication and mutation of these structures at the microscopic and macroscopic levels. By using unexpected materials, camera-less techniques, and unpredictable processes, Toni invites chance into her artistic practice and acknowledges the presence of natural forces beyond her control. Ultimately, she uses photography to examine the potential of its own ambiguity through abstract imagery that highlights the medium’s paradoxical capacity to substantiate facts and fabricate illusions.