The exhibition Robert Burley: The Disappearance of Darkness examines both the dramatic and historical demise of film-manufacturing facilities and industrial darkrooms. The photographs taken between 2005 and 2010 speak to sites and events related to the key corporations (Kodak, Agfa, Ilford). As an artist working in photography for the past thirty years, Burley has been both an observer and a participant in this radical transition. This exhibition addresses the emergence of a new technology, which irrevocably changed photography, as well as the abrupt and rapid breakdown of a century old industry, which embodied the medium’s material culture.

Robert Burley is associate professor at the School of Image Arts, Ryerson University.

The exhibition will travel to the National Gallery of Canada (October 18, 2013 – January 5, 2014) and George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film (October 2014 – January 2015).

This exhibition is made possible through the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts