Twelve weathered and rusted environmental prints (six double sided cards) drawn from Brian McWilliams' “Alchemy of Rust” exhibit, printed on high quality matte paper. Featuring photos taken in northern New Mexico of arroyo cars, dumpsters, electrical boxes, the backs of signs and scraps of metal – capturing the effects of time and weather on man-made materials. [ Includes download of the album Remanence "Sepiadrone" ]

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ALCHEMY of RUST

At the start of 2023, I was preparing my latest ambient album for release, sorting through a collection of 500 photos of rust and metal to consider for the accompanying artwork. I was questioning how time changes our perception and memory since much of the project was recorded and nearly abandoned over fifteen years ago.

Here in New Mexico, there is no shortage of colors and textures, with the slow effect of weather altering and changing the environment and everything in it. Many of these photos were taken in and around Santa Fe, Glorieta, Placitas and Rio Rancho, of arroyo cars, dumpsters, electrical boxes, the backs of signs and scraps of metal — anywhere where time and weather had the opportunity to transform and age the material.

When creating artwork, I typically work on small-scale pieces about the size of a postcard, but this time I wondered how the images might have a life beyond the confines of a CD and began enlarging and arranging them into larger panels, sometimes chronologically and other times by location and pattern. Much like the music I create, I allowed themes and images to repeat across multiple canvases, recontextualizing them to convey different moods and possibilities. I named the exhibit “Alchemy of Rust” to describe a slow process of change but also to reflect on the changes I experienced over the long arc of this creative process.

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BIOGRAPHY

Brian McWilliams is a photographer and ambient musician (aka Aperus) living in the high desert of northern New Mexico. His work combines abstract photography with field recordings, analog atmospheres and electronics. Sounds and images are set up as a feedback loop with photography influencing the music, and music feeding back into the artwork to create unique audiovisual artifacts.

Includes unlimited streaming of Sepiadrone via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.