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Megan Karson In Residence
September 4 - November 21, 2026
Opie Gallery
First Friday October 2nd & November 6th, 2026 | 5 - 8 pm
Two months, two seasons, two coasts.
This collection of photographs was made using the wet plate collodion process, one of the earliest forms of photography dating back to the 1850s. Handmade on sheets of metal and glass, these images were created during two month long artist residencies, one on an island in Washington in the spring, and another in the woods of Maine in the late fall. Each of these residencies allowed for intentional and intimate study of the local ecosystems, resulting in a visual storytelling map of the similarities and differences of these two environments.
Artist Statement:
My current work is about preservation, storytelling, and connection. Through working with nearly 200-year-old photographic processes, my work evokes a sense of longevity and timelessness. I strive to not only preserve historical photographic and artistic processes but to use these techniques to preserve the stories of the modern world. I aim to find the ethereal in the every day.
Invented in the 1850s, wet plate collodion is an entirely hands-on medium that allows me to connect to each step. From mixing my own chemistry to utilizing my portable darkroom to sensitize and develop each image, I am immersed in the process from start to finish.
Tintypes created by early explorers show us views of a world much different than we see today. Our planet is rapidly changing. Much like the wet plate photographers that came before me, I travel with my large format wooden cameras, my darkroom and chemistry, and a passion for capturing images of the world around me. The concept of family heirlooms and keepsakes is an antiquated one. Hearing stories about the family photos that are still kept and cared for after hundreds of years is a daily testament to the value of the work I am doing today.
Artist Bio:
Megan Karson was born and raised in the Kansas City area and developed a love for analog photography during her high school years. She never wavered from her love for hands-on art forms and eventually mentored under the late Will Dunniway to learn the historic photographic processes she works with today. She currently splits her time living between Kansas City and New Orleans.
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