Muffled Under Dark Blankets of Night

Detail of Ghost on Santa Monica Pier (2011) by Helen K. Garber

"Encaustic Noir" is an exhibition of works by Helen K. Garber, on display at dnj Gallery. Although it keeps with her traditional theme of neo-noir cityscape, this body of work adds a unique twist; the images are all layered in beeswax, enveloped into an encaustic depth along with various mixed media, such as book pages and twine.

With her haunting noir imagery as the compositional focus, the layers of wax add a sense of distance, both in space and in time. Like the accumulated tarnish of years gone by, dulling memory to hazy impressions, so too does the wax blur the photographic image, turning places and people into shades. However, there is an odd sense of perseverance to these works, an enduring echo of life. Generally, photography captures an image, freezing the moment eternally unchanging in time, but these works are not frozen, instead are caught in an eternal process of fading away, receding endlessly into obscurement.

The mixed media additions, the twine, book pages, and wooden panel, add to this sense of obsolescence. They speak of a distant place, disjointed from the here and now, lost like a restless specter from a world that was or might have been.

Detail of Bike Path Fog II (2011) by Helen K. Garber

"Encaustic Noir" is on exhibit at dnj Gallery until February 25, 2012. Helen K. Garber will discuss her work on February 11 at 4:30 pm at the gallery.

I highly recommend this show.

Detail of Santa Monica Rings (2011) by Helen K. Garber

Here are a few vids of Helen K. Garber's other works:

"Urban Noir/LA" Part 1

"Urban Noir/LA" Part 2

Enjoy!!!