Dark Water/Bright Fire

I am interested in observing sound as it pertains to image generation, particularly in the unpredictable and indeterminate results of light being bent and contorted into shapes suggesting three dimensional objects yet to exist on earth. Dark Water/Bright Fire is an audiovisual investigation of the sculptural properties of sound and the results are recorded in the form of cyanotypes exposed by sound-modulated light and photographs of Vectrex monitor experiments.

This work is not simply about the technical process of creating these images but illustrating how our perceptions of the world are shaped by the interaction of light and matter. The Presocratic Alcmaeon’s ‘fiery eye’ hypothesis suggests the experience of vision as an interaction of fire (energy inside the eye) and water (fluid surrounding the eyes). This laser+cyanotype process, with its emphasis on the interaction of light(fire) and chemical reactions(water), is an ideal medium for exploring these ideas. Through many experiments, I have come to relate to these amorphous, 3-Dimensional images as they reflect what the perception of emotional trauma might feel like in the body.

Dark Water/Bright Fire aims to challenge the viewer's perceptions of reality and encourage them to question the nature of what they see and feel. By manipulating light in unconventional ways, resulting artworks are simultaneously familiar and strange, meeting the viewer at the edge of their visual and emotional vocabulary.