ryan perez

NÄSSELKLOCKA, 2023

Gelatin silver print, museum mat board,

and polished aluminum frame.

Frame 11 x 14 inches; Print 9 x 6.35 inches

Ed 3 + 2ap

Soft Secrets, 2023

These photographs are an ongoing collection of throw pillows captured in the livable furniture displays between the West Covina and Burbank Ikea locations. Over ten weekends, the images were captured on 35mm black and white film using an SLR camera. When shooting at Ikea, the available light was a problem; it was a mixture of dim overhead spotlights, display lamps, and retail lighting. Post-film processing techniques were used to salvage information in the negatives to compensate for the dim lighting and underexposure. As a result, the images are further removed from living color and have increased grain and contrast depth.

I will admit that encountering the store's lighting situation brought about the look of these images, and as prints, they are receipts of my time. But how do these new images account for the unexpected results of my original problem? The problem is my shameful soft secret — the need for throw pillows.