EVAN HUME // Photographic Disruptions in Declassified Archives

PHOTOGRAPHIC DISRUPTIONS IN DECLASSIFIED ARCHIVES

Evan Hume's research and creative work focus on photography as an instrument of the military-industrial complex for reconnaissance, surveillance, and documentation of advanced technologies. He obtains declassified documents by searching the National Archives and filing Freedom of Information Act requests to US government agencies. The Cold War period that much of the material originates from is a significant turning point in the photography's development and use for intelligence gathering. His artwork combines images pertaining to the photographic innovations and operations of that era with contemporary documents and devices, connecting past and present. Imaging processes including analog printing, digital collage, and data bending are used to animate the archival material and emphasize the tension between informational and enigmatic source images. Through this disruption and layering, historical fragments are shown in a state of flux, open to alternate associations and implications. What we are allowed to know and see is often incomplete and indeterminate, encouraging speculation and critical vision.

—

Evan Hume's research-intensive creative work focuses on photography as an instrument of the military-industrial complex for reconnaissance, surveillance, and documentation of advanced technologies. He has exhibited widely and his work has been featured by publications such as Aperture, Der Greif, and Fisheye. Hume's first monograph, Viewing Distance, was published by Daylight Books in 2021.