Photo London 2023 - VirginiaVisualArts presents Bootsy Holler

@Somerset House Booth D03 Virginia VisualArts is pleased to present the works of U.S. artist Bootsy Holler at Photo London, featuring her series "Contaminated" and "Without Words." Each body of work delves into the relationship between humans and nature and our emotions and secrets. "Contaminated" is a profound layered exploration of the impact and secrets kept at the Hanford Nuclear site. Here is where the U.S. production of plutonium for the first nuclear bomb used during WWII was processed. The artist's grandfathers worked at the site, one as a surveyor, and first on the ground for the U.S. Government's Manhattan Project, and the other as a chemist. This area located in Eastern Washington State is where Holler herself was born. The photographs in the series depict the effects on her family, friends, employees, and the land, as well as the 53 million gallons of high-level nuclear waste left behind. The Hanford Site remains the most significant environmental cleanup project in the United States. "Without Words" also examines the power of nature and the connectivity of all matter on Earth. By recreating scenes based on visions while in a dissociative state, Holler's self-portraits paint the possibility of an ecofeminist solution in grand cinematic strokes, casting women and nature in a powerful union against the social constructs that devalue them both. Each piece in "Contaminated" is a unique creation, built from family and friends' stories, pictures, and declassified documents, capturing Holler's personal experience growing up in this highly charged and secretive town. The two series offer a thought-provoking commentary on the relationship between humans and the natural world. Holler currently lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. She has been recognized by the Society of Photographic Journalism and selected for Critical Mass Top 50. Her art images have appeared in numerous publications, including VOGUE, House & Garden, NPR, Lenscratch, Fraction, PDN, Lucky, AAP Magazine, and Chinese Photographer Magazine. Her seminal work is in the permanent collection of the Grammy Museum. Recently, she exhibited her work at The Foley Gallery NYC, and in 2020 she was invited to exhibit at the Shanghai International Photo Festival. Her work has been exhibited at Fotofever, Paris, The Griffin Museum of Photography, and the California Museum of Photography. In 2019, she published her second monograph, "TREASURES: objects I've known all my life." Holler is working on a new book about the Seattle Music Scene from 1992-2007. Please contact Virginia Dams for further information, virginia@virginiadamtsa.com www.virginiadamtsa.com