Charles, Salted paper print with his mucus

This weekend sees photographic artist Matthew Brandt open his second solo exhibition Velvet and Bubble Wrap at Los Angeles’ M+B Gallery. Known for his use of found, or more sought, materials in the photographic process, reminiscent of post-war artist Anselm Kiefer, his foremost series Lakes and Rivers saw the artist soak prints in water from each lake or river it depicts, allowing the physical nature of the subject to alter its record. Similarly Portraits, using the subjects’ own, often intimate, bodily fluids as a tool for developing their individual portrait, Brandt pushes the intimacy of portraiture and questions the nature of the relationship between photographer and subject.

George, Salted paper print with his vomit

“I was interested in early notions of photography’s ability to capture a person’s essence,” says Brandt of his approach to portraiture, “The salted paper printing method is such a crude form of photography that all you need is paper, salt, and silver nitrate. I realized salt is in almost everything,” realizing he could substitute these primitive developing tools for something more personal to each subject, and representative of the trust shared between them. This latest exhibition sees Brandt continue his literal documentation, “exploring Hollywood as both a construct and a landscape” and pushing his developing materials to the extremes of the urban landscape, from a range of hair dyes and plush velvet to cocaine.

Brenda Salted paper print with her ejaculation

See works from the upcoming exhibition at M + B Gallery here.