Christopher Lowther

Burn, Baby Burn: Christopher Lowther, assistant professor of time-based media, is dividing his new space to carve out a darkroom “where I can develop my own Super 8 and 16 millimeter movie film,” he says. This will come in handy for his latest project, a series based in part on director Irwin Allen’s disaster films of the 1970s, such as The Towering Inferno.

The rest of Lowther’s studio isn’t dark at all. “The idea of ‘play’ and ‘fun’ are important to me when I’m working, and my space reflects this via vintage animation and visual toys that I’ve found on eBay,” he says.

Disaster Waiting to Happen: Lowther’s new series, titled “New World Disorder: Disaster and Desire,” explores not only Irwin Allen’s disaster films, but also “the positive aspects of disaster” and “personal disaster in people’s lives and the way we use the metaphor of disaster to talk about this—saying that your ‘relationship is on the rocks,’ or you are having a ‘personal meltdown,’” Lowther says.

“The content of the project will be exhibited inside old clocks, vintage filmstrip viewers, and slide equipment from the ’60s and ’70s,” he adds.

Learn more about Lowther and see additional examples of his work here