Michal Chelbin

Dima and Sergey

2006

Archival pigment print (Edition of 5 + 2 APs) Signed and numbered on label, verso This photograph is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Frances F. Denny writes: “During the research process for a prior series of photographs, I discovered two related facts about my family tree: a) Mary Bliss Parsons, my 8​th​ great-grandmother, was accused of witchcraft in 1674 in Northampton, Massachusetts, and b) less than two decades later in 1692, my 10t​h​ great-grandfather, Samuel Sewell, presided as a judge in the Salem Witch Trials. One body of work came and went, but this ancestral coincidence stayed with me. What is a witch? Who does that word belong to—now? “Major Arcana: Witches in America​ is a collection of portraits of women from across the United States who identify as witches. As early as 15th-century Europe, people condemned as witches faced a cruel fate: torture, and in many cases, death. Yet despite its history, recent decades have seen a reclaiming of the word ‘witch.’ In the mid-20th century, emerging pagan communities in the United States and Europe began embracing the term, and since then, ‘witch’ has been adopted by a diverse group of people. “Major Arcana​ explores the various ways the notion of witch-ness belongs to those who claim it, representing the witch as a self-sought identity that both empowers and politicizes its bearer. Each woman photographed for ​Major Arcana​ (including genderfluid and trans individuals) pursues a form of witchcraft, whether aligned with a religion (like Wicca or Voudou) or a self-defined practice. No two individuals inhabit the term ‘witch’ in quite the same way, but many consider themselves pagan, and engage in a diversity of traditions, including: mysticism, engagement with the occult, politically-oriented activism, polytheism, ritualized ‘spell-craft,’ and plant-based healing. Among those included in the series are self-proclaimed green witches, white witches, kitchen witches...

Archival pigment print Signed and numbered, verso 22.5 x 30 inches, image (Edition of 5 + 2 APs) 33.75 x 45 inches, image (Edition of 3 + 1 AP) From the series, "The Silence of Sp...

Archival pigment print (Edition of 7) Signed, titled, dated, and numbered, verso This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Please note that prices increase as e...

Archival pigment print (Edition of 7) Signed, titled, dated, and numbered, verso This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Please note that prices increase as e...

All my life I have held a fascination with the animal kingdom, which began in my childhood growing up on a farm and extended into my adult years. On some inexplicable level I feel a ...

I present unspoken stories which illustrate fleeting moments in time and which are intended to evoke a mood in the viewer. These mythical illustrations might address the fragility of...

Twenty-five years ago I traveled freely throughout the Mexican countryside where I relished a warm, welcoming, and slow-paced style of living. I was heartened by the physical beauty ...

Green Bedroom (Morning), limited edition photograph, signed and numbered Hopper Meditations is a personal photographic response to the work of the American painter, Edward Hopper. My images are created by digitally marrying dollhouse-size dioramas with live models. The sets I built, painted and photographed in my studio. I then photographed the models, and lastly, made the digital composites in Photoshop. I have always loved the way Hopper’s paintings...