Leslie Norman

Based in Ohio, USA, Leslie Norman’s brilliant submission features in the Autumn 22 ‘Illicit’ Open Call of Pretence.  Norman has also had one of her photographs, Wings of Flight, selected for the ‘Grayscale’ exhibition at the Decode Gallery, Ohio, for 'it's dark and romantic quality'

“'Wings of Flight' is a photogram that I made initially to accompany a series idea exploring collections. I've been methodically photogramming my personal collections and some of my family members' collections - so far including broken light bulbs, vintage glassware, my husband's scissor collection, ceramic birds from one of my late grandmothers, to name a few. The urge to collect and save little things is so strong and peculiar. 

Last summer in Ohio we had a biblical amount of '17 year' cicadas emerge. They were everywhere, littering the sidewalks, leaving carcasses all over the lawns and roadways. It was epic to see, kind of amazing and terrible at the same time. I found myself collecting their wings. The butterfly wings I picked up on a beach at Lake Michigan. I carried them home in a discarded styrofoam cup. Monarch butterflies are now endangered. They used to seem so abundant in my childhood, but not anymore, I guess. The carpenter bee wings are from a trap that hangs outside our back patio. I emptied it out this fall and there were all these little bodies and detached wings. The resulting photogram is kind of awful but beautiful. I think that art speaks most clearly when opposing primal reactions are engaged.”

Composed of three groups of wings, Wings of Flight is simple and wonderfully fragile.  The agile and beautiful wings are striped back in stark black and white contrast.  Once a symbol of life through the freedom of flight they are now surrounded by nothingness.  The story of the image creation, styrofoam cups, endangered and trap perhaps magnifies this existence.   

The exhibition will contain an 8 x 10 archival print taken from a gelatin photogram, available through Decode Gallery.  With enough interest Norman might consider doing a five print limited series, so if you’re interested you better be quick. 

Norman will also be exhibiting work in the 934 Gallery, Ohio, next Spring but you can see more of her work now on Page 43-44 of our Autumn 22 issue, @leslienormanphoto (Instagram) or www.leslienormanphoto.com.

The Grayscale exhibition is open from 12th November - 3rd December 2022.

For a chance to feature in upcoming exhibitions at the Decode Gallery visit http://www.decodegallery.com

There are currently two upcoming exhibitions you can submit to Darkness Falls (Deadline 19th November) and Natural Wonder (Deadline 17th December).  Full submission details can be found on the website.

Decode is a submission based photography gallery located in the blossoming art scene of Tucson, Arizona. The gallery is located in a historic neighborhood near the Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson. Tucson is home to the Center for Creative Photography, which contains an extensive archive of work from photographers including Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, and more. Decode is dedicated to giving fine art photographers the important opportunity to show their work.