Crealdé School of Art is proud to present our newest exhibition entitled Spirits in the Silver: Discovering Lost Film by Laurie Hasan.

On View:
February 9—April 20, 2024

Opening Reception & Gallery Talk:
Friday, February 9 | 7–10pm

Crealdé Main Campus
Showalter Hughes Community Gallery

This exhibition showcases recovered photographs that multidisciplinary artist Laurie Hasan has rescued from exposed vintage film left behind in discarded antique cameras. She has acquired these cameras and vintage film from all over the world. She develops the vintage film and recovers and restores the photographs, most of which date from 1940s–1980s.

Come travel through time!
The exhibition includes hand-made platinum palladium prints of some of the most compelling images she has recovered, as well as the original cameras, film rolls and canisters which housed the long-lost photographs. In some cases, she has identified the people and places depicted and has located their families.

Learn the stories behind the images and how they were rescued. Enjoy interactive videos, including the making of a platinum print and a photo restoration. Explore working vintage cameras and examine various sized negatives on a light table.

Peppered throughout the exhibition space will be authentic vintage photographic artifacts from the artist’s collection that are from the time periods of the rescued images.

Laurie says of her work:
Spirits in the Silver is an ongoing project that began when I found a forgotten film roll in my desk. I developed it and discovered images from a special road trip I took long ago. I soon became obsessed with acquiring vintage exposed film – often finding old cameras with exposed film still inside.

Developing vintage film is a fascinating gamble. The exposure, age and condition are all unknowns, and I must guess the development parameters. Sometimes
nothing comes out. Other times I am rewarded with lovely gems. My favorites though, are when the film seems blank, but careful scanning and examination
reveal a ghostly image that emerges suddenly from the emulsion – as if it were trapped in time and I set it free.

I liken this process to time travel; I open little windows into forgotten moments in the past. It’s thrilling to be the first person to have ever seen them, but there is also a melancholy to it. I wonder who the people were? Why was the film abandoned? Using clues in the images I research the time periods and possible locations, and when possible, I even identify and locate the people and family. I use various archival print methods, including silver gelatin fiber paper, inkjet printing, and platinum printing.

By its very nature there is a certain randomness to the images in this project. The recovered images have been taken in different time periods, different countries, and by people from all walks of life. The connective tissue that joins them all is not the subject matter – but rather our shared humanity. Those born 100 years ago, those of us living now, and those who will come after we are gone all have a fundamental similarity – the desire to be remembered.

Someone long ago took the time to load film into a camera and capture a moment that was important to them. Somewhere along the way, that moment was lost or forgotten. By recovering and preserving these lost images, I am completing the circle that was left incomplete. I hope in doing so it honors the people who captured them.

About the Artist
Laurie Hasan is based in Orlando, Florida and holds a Masters in Graphic Design from Savannah College of Art and Design. She has studied and practiced photography and digital art for over 15 years and holds a Certified Professional Photographer designation through Professional Photographers of America (PPA).

Laurie loves to explore and push the boundaries of image-making and alternative photographic processes. She finds it exciting to harness the best of both traditional and digital tools, using historic processes with modern techniques to make images. She is passionate about making one-of-a-kind works of art that you can touch and feel and have a tangible life. It is truly a wonderful way to capture moments, stories, emotion and beauty—all that make life interesting and meaningful.