Fossilized Photo Trays
A conceptual work in nine panels
by Robert Asman

In 1989, after returning to the lab after a holiday, I discovered the following trays had accidently been left out and the chemistry crystalized. I photographed them on 4x5 sheet film and made 16x20" selenium toned silver gelatin enlargements for display at the studio. They were up for a year or two and were quite marvelous. These trays seem to be relics, symbols, and icons of silver gelatin and historical photographic processes.