Happy winter! We had a busy fall, and our hallways were buzzing with excitement from students, members, and our awesome members. This quarter we are proud to feature Franklin Henderson, Rachel Wichlacz, and Neil Berkowitz. We would like to thank them for their submissions. Our members continue to impress us with their work, and we encourage you to submit your work for the next round of the showcase.
We often receive more submissions than we can feature. If you were not selected, please submit again, especially if you have new work to share. The deadline to submit for our fall quarter spotlight is March 21st, 2025.
If you are a PCNW member and would like to submit to our Membership Spotlight, you can do so by clicking here.
Not a member, but interested in this opportunity? You can sign up here. Membership benefits not only include highlights like this one, but you also receive discounts on classes, workshops, facilities rentals, and merchandise; as well as perks that include 20% off rentals, 10% off inkjet paper, 10% off darkroom paper & chemicals at Glazer’s Camera, and 10% Off Framing Services at Lucky Rabbet Framing.
Franklin Henderson
What are you working on?
My practice frequently has me on foot, wandering long distances in urban environments, headphones on, volume low. In 2024, I started to recognize the influence of sound on my photographs. First They Passed Right Through Us is a project about that influence.
In 2023, the artist Steve Roden passed away. He was both a friend and, perhaps without knowing it, an inspiration and motivation. Known for his paintings and sound installations, he has a long discography of recordings, only some of which I knew.
In the months following his memorial, all of Steve’s sound wandered with me. The pictures in First They Passed Right Through Us have been both altered by the sound playing at the time they were taken and produce a sound that reflects that accompaniment.
What are you working on?
I have 7 pieces in Parklane Galleries Winter Show. This is a small works show and I entered all 8 inch diameter circular prints on aluminum, all florals. I also recently purchased a cheap mirror at Goodwill and have been experimenting with some more surreal photos by taking the mirror into the woods with me.
Artist Statement:
Rachel Wichlacz is a photographer living in Kirkland, Washington. Ever since her father handed her an old SLR in the Idaho desert when she was a teenager, she has enjoyed exploring the world through photography. After receiving a BA in studio art with an emphasis in photography from Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, she moved to the Seattle area where she focuses her lens on the small details of life that other people miss. Reveling in the cycles of nature, Rachel’s photography shows both the bright petals and the soft decay of the world.
Neil Berkowitz
What are you working on?
For the past year and a half I have been taking courses in the Digital Arts and Experimental Media department at the UW as a Senior Access student to develop the skills to create interactive installations, which I envision making good use of my photographic work in new ways. The first step was to build video skills—and I just had a 6-minute video air (“Just How Lucky,” below) in two sessions at the International Digitalkunst Festival in Stuttgart. More recent coursework has been centered on the technical side of interactions and a bit on fabrication. I now have two installation proposals out, with notifications due January through February.
Artist Statement:
A photograph represents rather than presents, tells rather than records. Even the most seemingly simple snapshot is a made thing. This is even more so with my multilayered photographic works. I want them to challenge the myth of capture, the common perception that a photo is an imprint of the real, which transfers the role of the making from the photographer to the thing imprinted. The light coming off the mountain or off Uncle Mike’s glaring bald spot made the picture and makes the imprint a reliably honest record. Mere visual art is a made, subjective thing. It expresses or relates or suggests. But photography captures.
I am uncomfortable with calling my work altered or manipulated. It is intentional and constructed. I want it to at least whisper to viewers that what they see-everywhere-was made and requires questioning and interpretation—and that it is up to them to weigh its meaning, its reliability, and how it connects with their lives.
