Alice O'Malley
Community of Elsewheres
Curated by Antony
March 20 – May 4, 200

Useless
Launch of issue #7
Including preview of upcoming PARTICIPANT Press publication: Blood and Guts in Hollywood: Two Screenplays by Laura Parnes
March 28, 2008

PARTICIPANT INC presents community of elsewheres, a suite of black and white photographs by Alice O'Malley, curated by longtime friend and subject, Antony. Over the last seven years, O’Malley has collaborated with scores of downtown New York artists to create a photographic archive of, by and for those who inhabit the peripheries--a document of the affiliations she and Antony have shared for over a decade. Set against backdrops of what seem to be the last empty rooms in a neighborhood reeling from takeover, these portraits derive from the informal rituals of languid afternoon visits and unhurried conversation. While the choice of the silver gelatin print casts her unconventional subjects in enduring relief, O'Malley's unschooled process bears the marks of imperfection that lend to its intimacy. This is the first exhibition devoted exclusively to this major body of work.