Lindsey Ross: Mushroom People

September 24 – November 5, 2022

Invented in 1851 by Frederick Scott Archer, wet plate collodion photography became all the rage by the 1860s. Eventually, the process was replaced by less messy, less dangerous, and more efficient methods of photography. The wet plate process, from coating to developing, had to be done before the plate dried, which became limiting. It gave the photographer no more than 15 minutes to complete the process, and was inconvenient for field use as it required a portable darkroom. The plate dripped silver nitrate solution, causing stains and potentially explosive build-up of nitrate residue in the camera and plate holders. 

But the process and the danger are part of what drew photographer Lindsey Ross to make a living at refining photography skills from long ago. Ross now specializes in the wet plate collodion process; that is, photography that takes a long time — a lot of patience. She lived in Wyoming for five years working as a photojournalist, assisting photographers and working in restaurants while avidly backcountry skiing. In 2008 Ross moved to California to pursue an MFA in Photography at the Brooks Institute. That’s where she became interested in the wet plate collodion process, when she viewed a collection of early 20th century prisoner mug-shots. Today Ross travels a great deal — for specific photo projects, shows, and residencies. She often lives out of her olive green 1975 Ford Ranger pickup, or sometimes a slightly more reliable van. Ross is comfortable in overalls and smocks. She appreciates good boots and going slow. Ross has built a life around enjoying the process. 

With her newest collection, Mushroom People, Ross explores how humans are bombarded with information that forms their perception of reality. These versions of reality are incomplete. They omit vast amounts of information, among many things, the fairies in the mushroom forest.

Ross says, “The forest is filled with beings both seen and unseen; these fairies or elementals exist beneath humans’ visible perception. These images remind viewers of the wonder, idealism and bliss often found in nature.

Elementals exist in folklore throughout history in every culture and region. They may be small or large; they have different physical appearances and are strong, active, physical forces in their environment. Their unifying trait is their connection to nature.

The elemental world is like the human world: they are mischievous, jealous, act in self interest and make mistakes. Like humans, they are flawed.”

Ross thought wet plate was especially fitting for this project because, “the wet plate collodion process is only sensitive to blue and ultraviolet wavelengths, so it includes some information that is not in the visual spectrum and filters out certain wavelengths in the visible spectrum.  This process functions as a filter that shows viewers what their eyes cannot see in reality, adding and subtracting information from what they see.

Humans have specific impressions of what mushrooms are in their reality: they are small and on the ground, they are edible, delicate, harmless and have no central nervous system. But could there actually be unseen beings inhabiting a forest of mushrooms?  

These images are intended to disrupt and cause viewers to be curious about other interpretations of reality based on a different set of information.”