Charred Cell
Sam Hutchinson
£25.00
Charred Cell, a new book from Sam Hutchinson and BOOT Mag
CHARRED CELL emerges from an extended period of visual research into the clinical estrangement of domestic environments. The work gestures toward a cynicism that coexists with enlightenment, suspended between an escapist rejection of the present and the fluctuating... Read More
Charred Cell, a new book from Sam Hutchinson and BOOT Mag
CHARRED CELL emerges from an extended period of visual research into the clinical estrangement of domestic environments. The work gestures toward a cynicism that coexists with enlightenment, suspended between an escapist rejection of the present and the fluctuating tension between trauma and awakening.
Themes of manipulation, both physical and emotional- surface alongside recurring photographic motifs of optimism: a warm radiance of presence that carries an undercurrent of hostility. Familiar, banal elements of authority and control are visually deconstructed, revealing a pervasive coldness that slowly rises to the surface. This coldness serves as a kind of buffer, a mediated distance from true horror, a protective layer against an ever-present anxiety.
How is emotion initially processed through images? Is trauma always detectable when we search for it? What is visible to some that remains hidden to others? And how does our visceral response to fear both safeguard and imperil us?
The materials and visual strategies in Hutchinson’s images intentionally obscure their purpose, inviting reflection on a liminal state, where fiction is aestheticised and the true nature of an image's reality is both exposed and withheld.