Time Written by the Sun: The Works of Chris McCaw at Haines Gallery

The arc of the sun burnt into the curling edges of mural-sized images, landscapes solarized and reversed, hang on the walls of Haines Gallery. The effect is immediate and arresting. Some works revel in a metronomic study of landscapes presented in black and white panels. Reversals and Revolutions marks the second solo exhibition of photographer Chris McCaw’s work at the gallery.

While Reversals and Revolutions introduces newer works, it is McCaw’s sunburn prints, for which he is best known, that continue to draw the eye. With the trail of the sun’s path actually burnt into the paper, delicate as a Chinese brush painting laid over landscapes in muted greys, the works become immersive experiences. McCaw’s use of obscure photographic processes and a vintage silver gelatin paper, the type of which is not disclosed, allows for extraordinarily long exposures. These large-scale works are rendered entirely within the camera itself.

The tonal range is reminiscent of platinum palladium prints as well as images produced by the USGS Survey’s 1875 mammoth plate cameras. Though there is rarely a true black or white, the works do not lack detail, subtlety, or richness. While all photography depends on light and environment, McCaw pushes this dependence to an extreme. He is making art about time in direct collaboration with the sun. The success of these works rests in his mastery of the medium and in the trust he places in the light by allowing it to physically burn through the paper.

Photographers such as Nicéphore Niépce and Hiroshi Sugimoto have demonstrated that a single photograph can hold an enormous span of time. However, their work is less concerned with physicality than McCaw’s. Niépce and Sugimoto focus on technical precision, while McCaw moves in a different direction entirely. He takes what was once an accidental byproduct of the medium and asks whether the act of the sun burning into photographic paper can be deliberately repeated.

The newer works on view display the same command for which McCaw is rightfully recognized. His ability to solarize portions of the image gives the landscapes a portal-like quality. Nothing within the frame feels extraneous. Inviting prolonged contemplation and a renewed appreciation of the natural world, McCaw’s work honors the origins of photographic history while confidently forging a path forward.

You can see Reversals and Revolutions at the Haines Gallery, 2 Marina Boulevard, Building C in Fort Mason, San Francisco.

See more of McCaw here chrismccaw.com