Electra Gallery is proud to present James O’Connell in The Stars Dream Darkly, his first solo photography exhibition. For this monumental debut, O’Connell continues to push the boundaries of his favorite historical photographic methods with hauntingly poetic wet plate collodion interpretations of the astrological signs. O’Connell’s new pieces are rooted in his signature tintype portraiture and result from countless hours of studio sessions transforming local Santa Fe models into dreamlike mythological figures shrouded in shadow. Twelve provocative original plates, and limited edition archival prints, display a sumptuous range of tones, from velvety black to silvery white, drawing in the viewers gaze and speaking to O’Connell’s mastery and dedication to his light-based craft.

James O’Connell is a Santa Fe-based Photographer specializing historic photo processes such as wet plate collodion. James fell in love with the wet plate collodion process while working at Bostick & Sullivan, the largest supplier of alternative photo chemistry. James studied photography and poetry at Emerson College, and his work has been exhibited in the United States and published in national photo publications such as Aint-bad and Analog Forever. James collaborates with other artists and art venues to host residencies and workshops focusing on historic photography processes. James is the owner and founder of the wet plate “tintype” portrait studio High
Desert Alchemy in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

"I started making The Stars Dream Darkly as
a skeptic of Astrology. It never felt right to me that the choreography
of celestial bodies would care so intimately for the lives of
individuals. As I began researching the mythological bedrock of each
sign, vague vaporous forms began populating my thoughts. It was only
with the complex rituals and limitations of tintypes that I could hold
these memories of dreams. And while I began distilling the haze of myth
and symbology suspended in my studio I began to understand. Astrology
doesn’t assume that the great cosmic clockwork of the universe turns for
the sake of one being, but rather the mythology of the signs allows for
someone to see themselves woven into the same heavenly fabric. Each
plate is then the result of two transmutations: the first, an internal
one of understanding, and the second a solidification of dreams into
silver."  - James O'Connell