SteppingStones
April 15th 4-7pm
April 16th 1-4pm
Artist Statement
Over the past several months I felt unmotivated to take photos and I struggled in my creative practice with film photography. Nothing that I tried to get myself out of this creative funk was working, so I decided to challenge myself instead with digital photography – in the hopes that it would trigger something creatively when I moved back to my primary medium of film. I approached my digital work like I would film. Because I was using the digital camera as a steppingstone back to film, I wanted to utilize a process that I would normally follow with my analog camera. Realizing that my disconnect with my photos was stemming from the disconnect I was having with nature, I began to make double exposures that melded visions of nature with people.
This period of disconnect began when stress and a busy schedule prevented me from taking the time to enjoy nature and creatively express myself through my photos. I felt no connection to my work, and I didn’t like the photos I was producing. I found that taking double exposures was a way to initiate my healing process that went beyond the camera. Superimposing multiple photographs within a single frame allowed me to organize the chaos within my mind that was creating the chaos in my world.
It was not until after I had finished with the digital double exposures that it became clear to me that there was something missing from the body of work. Displaying only digital images is not an accurate representation of my work. Only after I had gone through the entire process of finalizing these digital photos for my Capstone exhibition did I realize that it would only be complete showing both digital and analog double exposures. One represents a very personal and vital steppingstone, and the other represents both the struggle and triumph of regaining the passion I have for analog media.
This continuation of my double exposure project is necessary to make the body of work whole.
