'Till death do us art

As with my favourite artists from the European avant-garde – including László Moholy-Nagy and Alexander Rodchenko – my Hungarian father was a fabulous illustrator, painter, typographer, commercial artist and photographer. In 2019, Dad had a stroke. On being discharged from the hospital, he was admitted into an age-care facility where I would take in photographs, negatives and art books to cheer him up. I also took my newly acquired 4x5 large format Tachihara field camera in for him to make some exposures on. If you've ever used a large format camera, you'll understand the challenge presented to my bedridden 83-year-old father. He didn't care, and we set up the camera so he could use it lying on his side. I didn't have a shutter release cable, so Dad had to reach around to the front of the device to release the shutter by hand. Due to the ad hoc conditions, he was not able to stabilise the camera body, resulting in the shutter not closing fully and 'camera shake'. Despite the many constraints, we both laughed at the absurdity of the situation, and Dad had a great time. Below is one of the two captures my father made on the day – and the last pieces of art he would make. The long exposure – combined with the reductive simplicity of black and white film – emanates impermanence, transience, ethereality and beauty in the inferred passage of time, which I know he would have loved. It is a great honour to have been part of the process.

John Zurbo 2020, “Zo”, gelatin silver contact sheet, 5x7”, printed by Zo Damage, 2020

I miss you, Dad.