The city of West Hollywood has unveiled its newest art exhibit, “Prior Pleasures” by photographer Ellen Cantor, at the West Hollywood Library.

photo by Leslie Cantor

The exhibit explores memory and preservation of the past while ensuring the creation of a visual legacy for generations to come. “Prior Pleasures” is created using a multiple exposure technique (without Photoshop) of end pages, illustrations and text giving the illusion of a book fluttering open and coming to life for book lovers of all ages. The photographs are accompanied by facts about the books’ authors and original illustrators. The exhibit runs through May 7.

Ellen Cantor was born in Chicago, Illinois, and lives in Southern California. She graduated from the University of Illinois and UCLAX Environmental Design Program. Her images are about time, loss and memory. By photographing and recontextualizing precious mementos she has sought to understand how life proceeds and then, ultimately, disappears. She documents the artifacts of the past in order to enrich her present.

Her work examines how families archive and pass down memories from generation to generation. This work responds to a universally relatable experience of sifting through the items left behind determining how to incorporate our inheritance. Her work is photographed in the studio to allow her maximum opportunity to explore the mementos that are most precious to her.

Cantor’s work has appeared on lenscratch.com, f-stopmagazine.com, fraction magazine.com, rfotofolio.com, Voyage LA Magazine, My Daily Photograph and Silvershotz.

“Prior Pleasures” will be on view at the library during regular library operating hours: Monday to Thursday (11 a.m. to 7 p.m.); Friday to Saturday (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.); Sunday (noon to 4 p.m.); and closed on holidays.

The West Hollywood Library is located at 625 N. San Vicente Boulevard. For information, visit weho.org/arts.