Analogous: Old Cameras. New Work. Exhibit Opening

The Key West Museum of Art & History is proud to present Analogous: Old Cameras. New Work. An Experiment in Analog Photography by Key West Artists Michael Marrero and Mark Hedden.  This is a collaborative exhibition by Key West photographer, opening January 9, 2026, with a free public reception from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the museum’s Bumpus Gallery.  The exhibition will be on view through February 15, 2026.

Analogous explores the artistic possibilities of analog photography—a medium rooted in light-sensitive film and chemical development—in contrast to today’s increasingly digital image culture.  Marrero and Hedden, whose photographic styles are comparable in vision but unique in execution, use vintage cameras and traditional darkroom techniques to create work that embraces imperfection, texture, and the spontaneous quirks of the analog process.

The title of the exhibition is a deliberate play on words.  Not only does it reference the shared yet distinct approaches of the two artists—analogous in form and content—but it also highlights their commitment to working in analog formats.  The images presented are artifacts of process: shaped by the tools, film, light, and hands that created them, rather than algorithms or digital manipulation.

Inspired in part by the haunting clarity of glass plate negatives shot by early 20th-century itinerant photographer A.V. Rabenau—whose rediscovered works were exhibited by the Society over a century later—Marrero and Hedden continue the legacy of telling visual stories rooted in time, place, and physical medium.

At a moment when software and AI can generate flawless images at the click of a button, Analogous is a visual meditation on the value of imperfection, unpredictability, and patience. Scratches, grain, light leaks, and shadows become part of the narrative—reminders that artistry doesn’t always lie in control, but in surrendering to process.