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Sacha Archer's cellsea begins small with a breath that grows out of control, suffocating us in beauty like dark waves crashing into a rocky beach. As our lungs fill, Archer plays a masterful trick on us with the accompanying text, somehow unifying and separating the pieces in wide, pendulum-like swings, making us question everything. This playfulness that often dips into mystery and the absurd is something that he'll continue to do throughout, with great success.
The bliss and violence of the following pieces wage a war that overtakes the rational and burns itself into your brain. After a few passes through this book (printed beautifully by Timglaset Editions) the pieces become primordial symbols, the building blocks of an inner reality that slowly bursts into the external. They often use recognizable elements like letters and symbols, adding to the disorienting effect. After prolonged viewing I began to notice the letters on signs up and down my street begin to "Archer-ize", becoming animated like a lost Jan Švankmajer film. The accompanying texts are a mystery of their own. Whether you choose to view them as the titles of the visual pieces, or as a separate, individual text– the effect is magnificent like watching two parasites endlessly feed on each other, giving us new meanings with every reading. The text deals heavily in juxtapositions with both the visual work, as well as itself. One such example is the brilliant "The Agony of St. Fuck You", bleeds into "Goya at Arby's" that transitions into "The Unfortunate Case of Jesus Christ". Archer's use of humor, contrast, color, violence, and design have made this one of the most enjoyable books I've had the pleasure to live inside this year. and one I will undoubtedly return to often. Archer's work as a whole is among some of the most fresh and exciting currently being produced. He definitely deserves your eyes. I'm eagerly awaiting his next release, to be titled Havana Syndrome, and you should be, too. cellsea was published by Timglaset Editions in an edition of 150 copies. You can purchase a copy of it at this link: https://www.timglaset.com/produktsida/sacha-archer-cellsea Additionally, you can view a free PDF of Archer's previous work, Mother's Milk, also published by Timglaset, here: https://www.timglaset.com/_files/ugd/be28a7_613bf087d154489a9a0050548fbb3f7a.pdf Sacha Archer's website can be visited here: https://sachaarcher.wordpress.com/ Last month I officially began the Sunday Sky project with the aim to step outside at least once a week to photograph the sky and share the results every Sunday while contemplating the week. I am now going to be selling off the original polaroids from this series, and (for a reduced price) the outtakes from this series. Click here to view my Ko-Fi shop! There is, of course, a limited number of the main series available. The outtakes are a little more flexible as they outnumber the main series 3 to 1 (a rough estimate) and I can always shoot more as needed. Each polaroid will be selected at random, signed, and come with a letter of thanks. Once the polaroids start to sell better I will be moving the shop to a different site where I will be able to sell specific polaroids. Shipping is free at this time, both domestically and worldwide. Though it is not required, please consider leaving a tip or donation. At the moment of writing each pack of Polaroid 600 film costs $19.99 + shipping directly from Polaroid and these sales, along with the donations, go back into purchasing film. Also available in my shop is a new series of Experimental sky polaroids. They are a combination of my Sunday Sky series and my original experimental polaroids series that involved the physical and/or chemical manipulation of the polaroid. They can be found at the same link as the Sunday Sky polaroids, above. I would also like to direct you to this blog post, containing all of my daily haiku from the month of June. Let me know what you think! Lastly, don't forget to check out my short pamphlet of short poems that was recently published by Lachlan J McDougall Communications called "triskaidekaphilia". You can download the pamphlet (for free!) here. My short chapbook of ultra short poems is now available as part of Lachlan J McDougall Communications' Pamphlet series. Many thanks to Lachlan for making these poems available and for describing the collection as "a wild look into the short, constrained forms of which Biernat is a true master." The collection was written in Courier Prime, which was designed by John August's Quote-Unquote Apps. That font can (and should) be downloaded for free here. The collection itself can be downloaded directly from Lachlan's site here. Be sure to join his mailing list to receive his free pamphlets. You may be able to reach out to him for a print copy of triskaidekaphilia. I'll be adding a download link to my site in a few weeks, so watch this page for changes. I have always struggled to reconcile zen buddhism and surrealism. I feel I'm starting to do so with this new series of temporary sculptures. This first example has already been "destroyed". In other words, this sculpture no longer exists outside of my notes regarding the piece, and these photographs. I find this project to be a natural step forward from my Sunday Sky project. All skies are always fleeting, as are these sculptures. As I continue this project I hope to refine the process by which I record the objects. Any suggestions are more than welcome! Please feel free to comment below, or reach out to me on Twitter, or Instagram with your ideas, questions, or suggestions. Note: This apple was chosen because it had some soft spots. The clerk at the supermarket insisted that the apple would be thrown away if I did not take it. I do not support or encourage the unnecessary wasting of food.
In 2022 I shared a short series of polaroids called "i am the roller". Recently one of those polaroids (number 1a) was manipulated further and used for the cover art of WXO's single "The Price" (click here to listen on Spotify). It is beyond an honor. WXO is a great band (Frankensteined together from a few of my favorite San Diego bands including Boychick). They have a second single, "Just Like Candy" also available now on most platforms (click here).
A big thank you to editor petro c.k. for selecting my poem “barren nearer (to burden)--” for Dadakuku. You can read the piece, and browse the fascinating archive at the link below. There will be a print anthology of these poems at the end of the year, I’ll update you once I know more.
https://dadakuku.com/2023/02/09/barren-nearer-to-burden/ Fourteen of my Experimental Polaroids (no.'s 116, 71, 50, 29, 115, 148, 103, 125, 13, 32, 82, 53, 138, and 80) have been featured in issue 12 of Plethora Magazine, alongside an article titled "PAREIDOLIA: Tracing the Contours of Familiarity" by Metha Reis-Nordentoft. Information regarding the issue can be found here. About the polaroids, Metha Reis-Nordentoft says: In Kristopher Biernat's experimental Polaroids, we see teardrop-shaped figurations branching into fractals and imprints that resemble a jumble of fingerprints. Our eyes can lose themselves in the patterns as if they were a landscape, a labyrinth. But suddenly the whole picture looks like a screaming face, brightly lit by something outside the picture.
This chapbook is temporarily on sale for just $9 plus shipping over on the press' bigcartel site.
In 2020 my friend Joy Garnett asked me for some of my experimental polaroids to feature in The Evergreen Review. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity. The Evergreen Review, along with Grove Press as a whole, were instrumental in making me the writer and artist I am today. Being included in The Evergreen Review is still one of the things I am most proud of. You can see my inclusion here.
My chapbook, “the silent crucifixion”, has officially sold out over at Between Shadows Press. I want to express my gratitude to everyone who bought a copy, and to Tohm Bakelas who published the collection, rescuing the manuscript from a drawer.
In a few weeks I’ll be adding the full PDF to this site as a free download, in a nod to the great Derek Beaulieu, who insists a poet shares their out of print work for free. Share your work, share your methods, don’t be a gatekeeper. I am beyond honored and excited to announce that Plethora Magazine’s 12th issue is available now for preorders at this link. The issue includes some of my experimental Polaroids as well as work from Wilson Bentley, Anna Atkins, Adam Jeppesen, Lee Bae, Nicolai Howalt, Tilde Bay Kristoffersen, Henry Fox Talbot, and more. Plethora describes this issue (of patterns and fragments…) like this on their website: Issue no. 12 of Plethora Magazine delves into hidden patterns behind all natural form in pursuit of the fractal codes that shape progressions of growth, transformation and dispersion in the vast splendor of organic structures. When tracing the archetypical outlines of these dynamic configurations, intricate formulars are revealed that allows profound insights to the blueprints of the seemingly chaotic fabric of life. Slowly a new order appears in the wild lines of turbulence, propagation and dispersion and clues emerge that we may later harness through a fragmented prism of logic and intuition of form. The issue is being printed in a limited edition of 1000 copies so be sure to order one quick, while they’re in stock. In the past Plethora has published work by Francesco de Goya, William Blake, Salvador Dali, Alexander Calder, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Werner Herzog, Hieronymous Bosch, Diego Rivera, JM Basquiat, Berenice Abbott, and many, many more.
I recently had the honor of contributing to the debut issue of Capgras, a new literary magazine from Between Shadows Press. My poem “test footage no. 1” was included. The poem was the first “centipede” poem I wrote. This issue has just sold out so I thought I’d include the poem here: test footage number onecensored and immaculate, the dove weeps an ocean of liquid shadow-born in these fields, the circus is the insight i give to passerbys and invisible saints preaching splendor and tangible winds. reach, for me, for the still-beating heart of the sun, because it’s yours, and only yours, because every day is your wedding day and every day wears your perfume and eats the oranges that never say goodbye. /// the dark refuses to speak to us anymore. Keep an eye in Between Shadows Press, as they may reissue the magazine. You can also order a copy of my chapbook “the silent crucifixion” from the link above.
One of the first people to push me in my photographic works (as well as a hearty kick to my poetic output) was Dr. Aaron Richard Green, who passed away recently. This first collection of Polaroids is a Triptych created this morning while thinking of the brief intersection of our lives. This second collection of Polaroids is a triptych that Dr. Green chose himself from my catalogue, and intended on hanging together. He was a great man, and he will be missed. I am overjoyed to share that three of my Experimental Polaroids have been featured at The Evergreen Review, accompanying some poems by the phenomenal Kathleen Hellen.
Evergreen Review was a huge part of my development as an artist, writer, and later as a publisher, so I was blown away when they approached me asking for work. I’m especially grateful to Joy Garnett, the arts editor. To view the pieces you can follow the link below to Evergreen’s site. https://evergreenreview.com/read/say-his-name-say-his-name-and-other-poems/ I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by Shoutout Miami. You can read the short interview (which includes a number of photographs from my broken digital archive series, as well as a few from my experimental polaroid series) by following the link below. A special thanks to Emma Jacobs and the Shoutout Miami crew for reaching out.
https://shoutoutmiami.com/kristopher-biernat-writer-artist/ |
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