2026 SPE Annual Conference: Catalyst for Exchange
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print this pageWork Ahead
Student Presentation
Friday, October 10 - 4:30PM to 4:45PM
IPE Building
Work Ahead is a photographic series documenting construction and repair sites across the eastern and northern United States. Shot in medium- and large-format black-and-white film, the project captures transitional moments before completion fixes them for decades—an ephemeral state between what was and what will be.
This work explores impermanence as a photographic subject and reflects on the human impulse to build, repair, and repeat. By using large-format equipment, the images become deliberate studies of spaces often overlooked, where scaffolding, detours, and temporary structures mark change in progress. Black-and-white photography reinforces this focus, creating a precise, timeless record of moments that usually fade without notice.
In this presentation, the artist will share photographs from recent travels, discuss the process of working with large-format film in varied environments, and reflect on the meditative nature of documenting work and time. Both digital and physical examples of the project will be presented, alongside the opportunity to view the full exhibition installed in TCU's student gallery during the conference.
Work Ahead invites us to pause in spaces of transition, to see the beauty in impermanence, and to consider the rhythms of repair that shape our everyday environments.
speaker
Colby Kohn
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