MEMENTO

REFLECTED VANITIES

This series of wet plate collodion photography is both a reminder of the beauty and brevity of life, as well as a commentary on modern vanity - our ever-present obsession with the self, exponentially enabled by modern devices. Art is now commonly experienced through a phone screen – an interface that injects the viewer into the work of art – not simply as documentarian but centering oneself with the work. We are now in the age of art as photo-op. Leaning into this inescapable phenomenon, the Memento series plates are proportions to 16x9 to match the format of our screens. In each piece the skull is mirrored, the echo of “Alas poor Yorick…”, repeated back to it’s self. This doubling is repeated again by the viewer seeing themselves reflected in the surface of the work. The photo op is re-purposed with augmented reality that acts as a type of time machine, allowing the fixing portion of the development to be witnessed.

FROM THE ETHER

Wetplate Collodion process, also known as Tin Types, is an analogue process perfected in circa 1863. It helped to popularize photography and photo portraits on a proportional scale similar to the advent of smartphones. The process involves pouring collodion (a syrupy solution of nitrocellulose in a mixture of alcohol and ether) on a black metal (or glass) plate that is then made light sensitive with a solution of silver salts. While still wet, the plate is placed into the camera using a film holder and the exposure is made, after which it is processed using chemistry to reveal the latent negative image and then fixed into a positive image.

THE FIX IS IN

With this series I am offering 45 second long videos documenting in real time the reveal that occurs in the “fixing” part of the development process. The fix is where the developed image changes from negative to positive, and for me, is hauntingly beautiful and often not seen beyond the photographer or model. The work is tailored to how we consume content through screens large or small. These black mirrors have similarities to viewing the physical tintype’s highly reflective surface, by shifting our focus we see ourselves and the image simultaneously. The screens we view the work on become part of the experience, as if holding the actual photographic plate itself. Plates are cut to 13x9 proportions, matching modern formats rather than traditional dimensions.

UTILITY & ROADMAP

The utility is the simple reminder to live your best life. It is a keepsake of contemplation. Make the most of your time while here. Be kind and compassionate to those around you while doing the same to yourself. The roadmap is up to you on where you go and what you do.