Alison Rossiter

This volume documents 12 paper works made from the earliest expired photographic papers in the collection of Nova Scotia–based artist Alison Rossiter (born 1953), created in honor of Anna Atkins, the first person to illustrate a book with photographs. The exact expiration dates of these papers pinpoint their location on a timeline and coexist with events in world history.

No matter what the light-sensitive materials have endured through dormant years, they still respond to chemical development, and the resulting photographic tones are evidence of experience. Physical damage, moisture and mold produce tonal changes when developed. This book, a copublication with the New York Public Library and Yossi Milo, includes all 12 works from the series at actual scale, along with close-up details. The reference dates, which cover world events such as World War II, and art historical references such as Picasso’s Blue Period, are included at the back.

Divided into sections that represent the breadth of Alison Rossiter’s (born 1953) process and vision, Expired Paper offers a comprehensive look at the artist’s body of cameraless photo-art—Latent, Landscapes, Pools, Pours, Dips, Blurs, Fours and Collages.

Art critic Leah Ollman has been contemplating Rossiter’s work for years, and her accompanying text serves as an ideal complement to the images: “All of the works pay homage to the rich idiosyncrasies of photographic papers across history, and restore a sanctity to the photograph as object. Made without cameras, lenses or film, the works are nothing but process and materiality.”

The book also includes a selection of early 20th-century photographic paper packages (which the artist has collected for over 10 years) in a separate booklet.