San Francisco-based photographerRichard Barnes' work touches on themes
of archeology and architecture -- the relationship we have to our history, the
ways we collect and catalogue its residue, how we create and utilize the
spaces we occupy.

This exhibition of new photographs consists of two bodies of work. In the
first, Barnes documents exhibitions in the Cairo Museum. Case after dusty
case containing mummified crocodiles, giant fish and household pets vie for
space with human remains and clay tomb figures. The second body of work
consists of "portraits" of bird nests taken from the collection of the Western
Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology in Camarillo, California. This work
addresses, among other things, the contrast between birds' incorporation of
human debris -- string, newspaper, dental floss, hair etc. -- in the construc
-tion of their nests, and the human urge to bring nature into the home.

Orit Raff is an Israeli artist based in New York. Her photographs, videos, and
installations capture the sensual beauty of the unextraordinary and unnoticed,
the remnants and echoes of the occupants of spaces. Her new video, "Thirty
Times the Length of My Breath," is an underwater meditation. With the camera
directed at the drain in a swimming pool, insignificant moments are gradually
infused with meaning as the muffled sounds of swimmers become apparent
and the occasional pubic hair or other debris floats past.