Wayne Martin Belger

Born February 11 1964 in Pasadena California to two very understanding middle class Catholic parents, I remember the days when mass was done in Latin. Magic language, magic practices, and magic altars with their own ritualistic traditions are intriguing at 5 years old. Not knowing Latin, I relied more on visuals to receive the communication. The priest was using beautiful sacred tools and potions that were subject-created to bring me into communion with the subject. As the Priest has made his tools of gold and silver and Blood and Body to be in direct relationship with the subject Jesus, I create my tools of Aluminum and Titanium and Blood and Body to be in direct relationship with the subjects they are created for.

The tools I create and work with are pinhole cameras. With pinhole photography, the same air that touches my subject can pass through the pinhole and touch the photo emulsion on the film. There’s no barrier between the two. There are no lenses changing and manipulating light. There are no chips converting light to binary code. With pinhole what you get is an unmanipulated true representation of a segment of light and time, a pure reflection of what is at that moment. With some exposure times getting close to 2 hours, it’s an unsegmented movie from a movie camera with only one frame.

The creation of a camera comes from my desire to relate to a subject. When I choose a subject I spend time studying it. Then I start visualizing how I would like a photo of the subject to look. When that’s figured out, I start on the camera stage of the project by collecting parts, artifacts and relics that relate to the subject. When I’ve gathered enough parts and feel for the subject, I start the construction of the camera. I create the cameras from Aluminum, Titanium, Copper, Brass, Bronze, Steel, Silver, Gold, Wood, Acrylic, Glass, Horn, Ivory, Bone, Human Bone, Human Skulls, Human Organs, Formaldehyde, HIV+ Blood and relics all designed to be the sacred bridge of a communion offering between myself and the subject. All to witness and be a tool of the horrors of creation and the beauty of decay presented by the author light and time.

Select Solo Shows

• ArtSpace, Shreveport Contemporary Art Museum, Shreveport, LA. March-May 2012
• Meta Gallery, Toronto, Canada April 2010
• Varnish Fine Art, San Francisco, CA. October 2006
• Billy Shire Fine Art, Culver City, CA. March 2006
• Bert Green Fine Art, Gallery Row, L.A., CA. April 2005
• Etherton Gallery, Tucson, AZ. January 2005 (W/Joel-Peter Witkin)
• Root 2 Fruit, San Francisco, CA. November 2002
• Todd Hughs Fine Art, Pasadena, CA. December 2001
• The BAU Gallery, Ojai, CA. August 2001
• The Brewery, L.A., CA. June 2001

Select Group Shows

• La luz de Jesus, L.A, CA November 2011
• Beyond Eden, L.A, CA October 2011
• Meta Gallery, Toronto Canada. January 2010
• Stychnin Gallery, London England, December 2009
• Rivet Gallery, Columbus, Ohio. February 2009
• Device Gallery, La Jolla, CA July 2008
• La Luz de Jesus Gallery, L.A., CA. March 2004
• M Modern Gallery, Palm Springs, CA. February 2004
• Roq La Rue Gallery, Seattle, WA. October 2003
• City of Brea Gallery, Brea, CA. April 2003
• Wiford & Vogt fine art, Santa Fe, NM. December 2002
• The Folk Tree Gallery, Pasadena, CA. October 2002
• Fototeka fine art, L.A. CA. June 2002
• The Folk Tree Gallery, Pasadena, CA. October 2001

Select Publications

• Photo Technique Magazine, 4 page feature story, September/October 2012
• Photo Pro Magazine, 2 page feature story, London December 2010
• Popular Mechanics, 6 page feature story, Russia, October 2009
• Top Class Magazine, 4 page feature story, Czech Republic. Spring 2009
• Arena Magazine, 2 page feature story, Turkey. Spring 2009
• Bizarre Magazine, 2-page feature story, August 2007
• ALARM Magazine #26, 6-page feature story by Summer Kumar, Spring 2007
• B&W Magazine #53, 6 page feature story by Richard Pitnick, 2007
• Juxtapoz Magazine, 10 page feature November 2006
• San Francisco Chronicle, Feature story, October 2006
• Elle Décor, Feature September 2005
• Brentwood Magazine, Feature story May 2005
• Tucson Weekly, Feature story February 2005
• Seattle Weekly, Art pick of the week for October 8th-14th 2003
• Los Angeles Times Magazine, Feature story, Sunday November 24th 2002

 

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