VIRTUAL EXHIBITION

John Singletary: Anahata

This virtual exhibition highlights work from John Singletary’s project Anahata, a photography-based multimedia project, presented as an immersive installation on OLED electronic canvases, as well as traditional print photographs.

Artwork featured: © John Singletary, *Dryads*, 5’ x 3’ OLED Installation, 24” x 42”, Framed in a Handcrafted Brushed Metal Frame. Click here to learn more about acquiring artworks from this collection.

Anahata is a photography-based multimedia project, presented as an immersive installation on OLED electronic canvases, as well as traditional print photographs. These images are the result of an intimate collaboration between performers, choreographers, costume designers, makeup artists, and technicians in which John Singletary acted as photographer and director. The choreographed movement was captured with an open-spectrum camera in a purpose-built, UV light studio where dancers performed in handcrafted costumes. The pictures are not the product of digital editing, but rather a novel photographic process that produces images true to moments in time.

Sanskrit for "unhurt" or "unbroken," the word Anahata corresponds to the energy of the heart, the "unstruck sound" and harmonic resonance with the celestial realm. Dream-like imagery steeped in archetypal symbolism, mythology and mysticism directs a narrative that transports the viewer to an ancient, eternal place. Abstract but familiar, this place exists within every one of us. It is the provenance of dreams, devotion, prayer, dance, music and silence. This cocoon-like web connects us through our stories, journeys, compassion and grace. Anahata explores human relationships and their connection to the divine. Whether experienced as a sanctuary or celebration of diversity in relationships, the images in Anahata attempt to connect to a universal and ageless divinity. When modern society is becoming precariously polarized and divided by sanctimonious tribal ideologies, Singletary hopes that his work can bridge some of the divides in our innate connection.

“I want the narratives to be open enough for the viewer to find themselves and their own deeply personal stories in the images. I hope our spaces transport the viewer and inspire a sense of wonder. The most I could hope is that someone walks out of a show feeling a little less alone.”

— John Singletary

About the Artist
John Singletary is a photographer and multimedia artist based in Philadelphia, PA. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from The University of the Arts. His work has been collected by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Center for Fine Art Photography as well as other institutional and private collections. He has exhibited at the Pennsylvania State Museum, LG Tripp Gallery, The James Oliver Gallery, The Sol Mednick Gallery and The Delaware Contemporary Museum. His work has been reviewed and/or featured in Lenscratch Magazine, L’Oeil de la Photographie, the Od Review, Movers and Makers (WHYY) and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Singletary is also a contributing writer for The Photo Review Journal.