Statement

In this on-going project, I start with the simple premise of creating something new - something I have not seen before; something which surprises me. I seek to create images which have the power to provoke and therefore illuminate the unknown, the esoteric.

What happens when one explores the very fringes of photography? What happens when one embarks on an alchemical journey which literally breaks down the definition of what contemporary photography is known to be? By creating images without a camera, light, lenses or enlargers. I allow images to form organically through the interaction of time, chance and the subconscious mind.

Process

Beginning with a piece of 4”x5” Black & White Polaroid film, I put my camera aside and work with the film directly. Like a chemist in a lab, I experiment with the raw film by sometimes treating it with a variety of common organic substances, before exposing it to extreme elements. What happens to film if you pop it in the microwave? Submerge it in a hottub? Stick it in the freezer? And what happens if you do that for an hour, a week, a month or a year?

Then, as I scan the processed film into my computer, I witness the extraordinary: the Black and White film has picked up color - astonishing color. And… it seems to have captured an image. Perhaps that image was there always, lying dormant until this very moment. Perhaps it was waiting to be awoken, waiting to be discovered. Or perhaps it is not there at all.

Some images are converted back to Black & White and given a “Selenium/Brown” tone. Others live most robustly in full color. The final image is printed on 100% rag paper via an inkjet printer using archival pigment inks.

This body of work is printed in an edition of  9 plus 2 APs. Prints are available in  30”x40”, 17”x22” or 81/2”x11”. Only a total of  9 prints of each image are made. Prints are titled, numbered and signed on verso.

 Copyright © 2011 Magnus Stark. All rights reserved.