Colin Dodgson
Vjosa
May 19-23, 2022
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What is done cannot be undone --- damming a river means it will never return to its natural path, parts will dry, and others will flood. Power will be created, sure, but in a country without its own grid what benefit is it to ship energy on cables outside of its borders, far away from the ecosystem where it is being mined. Rivers are massive and intimate at once - they can be experienced at the closest scale; you walk into them, feel their movement, interact with them as porous and changing forms. Yet, to see a river as whole, in all its vastness, one must be high up and view it topographically.
In Ecuador, Bangladesh, and Canada, rivers have been granted the rights of human beings, and are protected as such.
Initiated by a commission from i-D Magazine, Colin Dodgson made these images of the Vjosa river, the last wild river in Europe. Much of the Vjosa flows through Albania, so its future is deeply tied to their politics, placing it in a precarious point of limbo somewhere in between development and protection.
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During the 5 days of the show, Dakota lent itself to a variety of functions - a gallery, a home, a studio, and a place to gather with old and new friends alike.
Colin's handmade darkroom prints act as sculptures as much as photographs. Their surfaces respond to changes of light and humidity in the space ... reflecting, absorbing, shimmering, or disappearing altogether. They sat on a variety of tables and flat surfaces which were borrowed from their functions within the apartment and at the close of the show returned to their natural state. Documenting the installation at all times of day (and night) became a collective act, as important as the show itself.
The Snake: every day around 4pm, a beam of light would enter through the window and hit the face of a single print, refracting onto the wall and changing shape for 10 minutes before leaving for the day. We grew fond of it and miss it now.
The sixty-three 12x16” hand type C prints on view were printed by the artist for the occasion of “Vjosa.” They are available exclusively as sets of 3, where the buyer chooses the first image, Colin chooses a second in response, and Dakota chooses the third image completing the set. Each set is unique to the exhibition, and images will be removed from the pool of availability after being claimed. Prints will be signed individually, and each set of 3 is priced at $2400.