In describing the inspiration for his photographs, Christopher Colville quotes the late astronomer Carl Sagan "…the universe is mainly made of nothing. Something is the exception. Nothing is the rule. That darkness is commonplace; it is the light that is the rarity."

Colville says, "this sense of wonder cast by light in the otherwise impenetrable darkness is a driving force behind this current work."

A series of his photographs, Nothing is the Rule, is featured in the Atelier Gallery at the Griffin Museum, September 22 through December 4. An opening reception with the artist is September 22, 7-8:30 p.m.

"The work in this exhibition was born out of a fascination with the dual nature of creation and destruction that generates this rare light," Colville says.

He made each image by igniting a small portion of gunpowder on the surface of silver gelatin paper. "In the resulting explosion, light and energy abrade and burn the surface while simultaneously exposing the light-sensitive silver emulsion," Colville explains.
"I loosely control the explosion by placing objects on the paper’s surface, but the results are often surprising and unpredictable as the explosive energy of the gunpowder is the true generative force creating the image," he continues. `"These fire prints visually reference celestial events, the residue of both creation and obliteration, generated from a single spark."

Colville has a bachelor of fine arts degree in anthropology and photography from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and a master’s of fine arts degree from the University of New Mexico. He has exhibited widely and is a visiting assistant professor at Arizona State University.