On Exhibit

A photographer explores sexual identity in work that also deals with the tricks that memory can play.

By Glenn Gullickson

Logan Bellow

Photographic Memory

Sexual identity is subject of installation that deals with how we remember

The tricks that memory can play inspired Logan Bellew to create a photography installation that also explores queer identity.

Bellow's "The Episodic Nature of Forgetting" is on exhibit through Nov. 12 at the Eye Lounge in Phoenix and will be open for the First Friday art walk on Nov. 4.

Bellew photographed 11 subjects for the installation of almost 200 black and white photos. All of the subjects are men between the ages of 20 and 30 of a variety of ethnicities. Bellew said most are gay, but some are straight or questioning.

Bellew said the project grew out of his interest in the transition between childhood and adulthood, a time in life when he said sexual identity can be very fluid. The idea also stems from his study of memory — something that's intrigued him because of what he called his own "really terrible memory."

Duncan

In his reading of medical dictionaries and journals, Bellew discovered cyptomnesia, a condition that occurs when a forgotten memory returns but is recognized as an original idea. Bellew thinks that may have happened to him when he came up with the idea for his project, which he said was inspired by something he saw on the Internet during his research.

"I like using photography as a form of visual language," Bellow said. To display the work, Bellow said he strives to create an environment for people to experience.

To reflect the idea of remembering and forgetting, the installation's 2- by 3-inch photos are placed end to end on the walls of one the galleries at Eye Lounge. Photographs of each man appear in a series that shows subtle differences. Occasionally a photo of a different man shows up to break the pattern. "You may or may not notice that person is there," Bellew said.

James

The photos are suspended from the wall by dressmaker's pins. Bellew said it took him a week to install the exhibit.

The men were photographed from the waist up. Photographing the subjects without shirts "eliminates the complication that comes with certain types of clothing," Bellew said.

Bellew, who's been out since high school, said creating the project helped him further understand his own sexuality by interacting with his subjects. "It's always like a personal journey," he said of his work.

Bellew, 23, graduated from Marcos de Niza High School in Tempe and attends Honors College at Arizona State University. He plans to graduate in December with majors in photography and art history. Eventually he would like to teach photography.

Bellew is co-president of Eye Lounge, a collective of about 15 artists that presents rotating exhibits. -E

VITAL STATISTICS

"The Episodic Nature of Forgetting"
Photography by Logan Bellew
On display through Nov. 12
First Friday reception 5-10 p.m. Nov. 4
Eye Lounge: A Contemporary Art Space
419 E. Roosevelt St., Phoenix
602-430-1490; http://eyelounge.com