Robin North

Robin North works in alternative photographic processes and a range of expressions such as experimental narratives and portraits.
From: Richmond, Texas, and San Diego, California, USA
Shows: Cyanotypes, Platinum/Palladiums and Salt prints.

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Robin North is an interdisciplinary/visual artist based in Richmond, Texas, and San Diego, California. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Houston with a concentration in Photography and Digital Media. He is currently a Presidential Graduate Research Fellow and Master of Fine Arts candidate in Photography at San Diego State University in San Diego, CA. His work, ranging from alternative photography processes, installation, time-based media, experimental narratives, and innovative imaging technologies to photographic archives and research, has a particular interest in the relationship between photography and history related to the African Diaspora and African Americans.

Robin North’s practice explores how image-making, particularly photography, during the Civil War, Reconstruction, Civil Rights, and other periods of conflict was used to deny black representation and perpetuate the idea of racial inferiority. Robin explores the complex questions associated with the account of African chattel slavery and its correlation with the past and present-day structured systems of racism and the personal and public forces that shape African Diasporic experiences.

Robin North engages with the historic nature of alternative photography processes and the anti-technological pursuit of the reproducing of perfect images. The handmaking aspect of alternative photography provides a personal artistic expression through creative thinking and the enjoyment of the unknown. He feels that the limitless possibilities within alternative process techniques allow unconventional artistic expressions that directly correlate with reimagining black representation and missing history.

“As a former technology executive, digital photography has always been a passion. But as I turned to the arts as a means of interrogating my history, the idea of replicating the past did not fuel my creative aspirations. I wanted a unique approach that wasn’t a reproduction of a troubled past. Alternative photography provides a creative and expressive outlet to weave past conflicts into contemporary issues, which informs the future. It was the perfect combination of historical practices with contemporary processes.”

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