Hard Copy, the NYC art show finding salvation in Xerox printing

An estimated 63,000 images are captured globally every second, or 5.3 billion every day. The vast majority of these are taken on smartphones, condemned to forever reside in the incorporeal digital world of 0s and 1s. Meanwhile, physical copies are increasingly hard to find. For artist Aaron Stern, the mechanical whirr and beep of the Xerox printing machines stands as a staunch opposition to this trend, its deliberate, almost painstaking process of printing hard copies offering a return to a time when picture-making was more deliberate. 

Hard Copy, curated by Stern, showcases contemporary photography from 20 artists, including Gray Sorrenti, Katsu Naito and Shaniqwa Jarvis, laboriously scanned and xeroxed for physical consumption.  Through their unmistakable vertical streaks and brutalist grayscale, these Xerox prints are both alluring and mysterious, providing a nostalgic look back at the enduring power of the photographic medium, as well as a celebration of today’s luminaries. 

“There are 1 trillion, mostly digital, mostly garbage, pictures made every day. It’s nice to see good ones in person,” says Stern. “More than anything – I wanted to do what I wanted to do. Repurpose work of other artists. In collaboration with them. I did it all mostly for the process. Gave me an excuse to talk to my friends. That I put in the exhibition. And a good reason to reach out to people I’ve wanted to work with.”

As for the images themselves, you’ll have to see with your own eyes to find out. “If you look close enough, you most probably might find yourself here,” Sorrenti cryptically announced on Instagram last week. According to Stern, her contribution comprises 900 images, pulled from Facetime, and collaged to make a staggering 61-foot-long mural.

The exhibition launches at 6-9pm this evening (May 3) at downtown New York’s WSA building, 161 Water Street, showcasing until the end of the month. Come jam with the printed medium and hope the printer doesn’t jam.