Paul Chan - Off Safety                                                                                             Exhibition Dates: Friday December 19 - December 21, 2014

Slow Culture is proud to present the first solo exhibition by photographer Paul Chan: “Off Safety.”  From 1997 - 2003, Paul Chan photographed numerous rappers, skateboarders & actors for a publication called Kronick Magazine.  Right on the cusp of the Internet and digital cameras, this was a time when we still relied on film cameras and print media.  During his stint at the magazine, Paul amassed an unprecedented collection of images that we are unearthing for the first time in nearly a decade.  While most photographs were taken with the intent of being editorial portraits that were supplemental to a magazine interview, every so often, or if there were shots remaining in the film roll, Chan captured candid moments that gave the viewer a glimpse of rappers in a more intimate & vulnerable state which was a contrast from the often super-heroic, hyper-masculine images rappers usually are portrayed to be in the media.  

Images of a young Lil Wayne, Wu-Tang Clan behind the scenes during the filming of their iconic 'Triumph' video, Eminem & Dr. Dre, young Black Eyes Peas before Fergie, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes & more shot with film, pre-internet, in a snapshot, documentary style aesthetic which echo the works of Larry Clark & Nan Goldin serve as a unique historical document of a time in Hip-hop and fashion, which some call the 'Shiny Suit' era, where Hip-hop artists were quickly infiltrating and dominating mainstream consciousness in a way that many never thought Hip-hop could.