The Photography of Brian Henry

Based in Maryland’s east coast city of Baltimore, Brian Henry is a self-taught, experimental analog photographer and explorer of abandoned sites. His work is an ongoing journal that documents architectural decay, explores the human body and its relationship to deserted spaces, examines emotions stirred by intimacy, fear and mortality, and uses the medium of photography as a narrative instrument.

Brian Henry became intrigued with analog photographic material and its capabilities during a traditional high school photography class. He became interested in how little alterations in the process changed the appearance of the image. Although Henry won a several scholarships to attend art school, he chose to apply his resources to his own unscripted, artistic journey. Henry has traveled a photographic journey up and down the East Coast of the U.S., as well as Europe and the Balkans.

For a period of nearly twenty years, Brian Henry has worked with different films, cameras and chemicals to understand how each affected the image of his subject. The equipment he prefers are the Pentx 67 with 55mm and Hp5 as well as Polaroid cameras and their films. Henry has learned and expanded upon traditional darkroom printing processes, often altering the prints and complimenting the subject with effects of distress and decay. He has at times buried the images in decaying buildings to achieve the correct effect for the each print’s unique irreplaceable mementos of time.   

In 2019, Brian Henry participated in the seventh edition of the Revela’t Analog Photography Festival in Vilassar de Dalt near Barcelona, Spain. He has also presented his work in several group exhibitions including the 2018 “Fotofilmic17” at Galerie Binome in Paris and “The Male Gaze” at Seattle, Washington’s Gallery 1/1 in the United States. In 2019, Henry had is first solo exhibition, “Brian Henry: Silver Gelatin & Polaroid Prints” at the Steven Amedee Gallery in New York City.

Brian Henry and Greg Hatem are co-owners of Bazaar Curious Gifts at 3534 Chestnut Street in Baltimore’s iconic Hampden neighborhood. This is the gift shop for those seeking strange and unusual gifts, among which are an unique collection of natural history items, antique medical instruments, unique home decor items and other curious objects. The Bazaar Curious Gifts online shop is located at: https://www.bazaarbaltimore.com

“My work is an ongoing journal documenting architectural decay and my own mortality. I attempt to portray the beauty I see in these structures and occasionally include myself and others within them…. When I shoot Polaroid film, I consider it a unique souvenir of my experience. There’s something meaningful in creating something tangible within a space that will soon be destroyed. Other film mediums allow me to bend reality and add additional effects of distress and decay. In some instances, I have used photographic paper and film found in abandoned buildings. Other times, I have buried my images in decaying buildings for effects. It is all part of my attempts of connecting with a space.” —Brian Henry

Notes: The Thoughts & Photography of Johnny Martyr website has a 2019 interview with Brian Henry entitled “The Instant (Film) Decay of Brian Henry” at: https://johnnymartyr.wordpress.com/2019/03/21/the-instant-film-decay-of-brian-henry/

The fine art photography daily “LENS/CRATCH” has an article and interview with Brian Henry entitled “Beyond Instant Eros: Brian Henry’s Polaroids of Desire and Decay” at: https://lenscratch.com/2024/05/queer-photography-week-decay-mortality-brian-henry/

If you choose to repost some of Brian Henry’s photos, please credit the artist on the posting.

Top Insert Image: Brian Henry, “Self Portrait”, Color Print

Second Insert Image: Brian Henry, “Presence”, Gelatin Silver Print

Bottom Insert Image: Brian Henry, Title Unknown (Self-Portrait), Gelatin Silver Print