Wild Gravity Project Statement
Wild Gravity is a photography series that uses a historical printing process to explore contemporary imagery inspired by science, nature, and my personal search for meaning in the cosmos. The images are shot digitally, then transformed into negatives and printed on transparency film. Next, I paint light-sensitive Vandyke brown chemistry onto paper and make an exposure using the sun. The process is at once natural and scientific, and it abstracts the imagery by replacing all color with monochrome antique brown tones. The resulting photographs reference the past, or perhaps even collective memories. While printing, I am sometimes reminded of the old black-and-white photographs of scientists around the turn of the last century, deciphering particle tracks on an emulsified plate.
I photograph objects and scenes found in everyday life that, when examined closely, also represent discoveries and questions posed by fields such as biology, astronomy, quantum physics, and neuroscience. I enjoy reading about these subjects and stretching my mind in an effort to comprehend. I don't expect my search for meaning in the cosmos to yield one particular answer, but the acts of searching and creating add depth to life.