Du Mois Gallery 4609 Freret Street LA70115 New Orleans États-Unis
As a student at the Maryland Institute College of Art, I would meander the rooftops of Baltimore with a viscous mullet purchased from the Lexington Fish Market. I would gingerly pose my subject within the ornate metal spokes of weathervanes that topped the brownstones. My allegory symbolically suggested I was looking for an unseen force to point me in the right direction.
Later, in total darkness, I would pry the cap off the film canister and fumble to spool the undeveloped high-contrast film on a reel. Once in the tank, I would continue the technical task of push processing, keeping careful note of temperature, time and chemical precision. After the film was dry, I would continue the process by selecting only the negatives with the most dramatic compositions. Back in the darkroom, I would enlarge, crop and further push the grain and contrast to get an image that was stark and histrionic.
I was filtering– through subject, exposure, film and paper. I would wait for clouds to dissipate, arduously rig boards to bounce light. With critical editing, I was manipulating reality using a traditional craft to create a compelling fiction.
I have not produced a traditional photograph like that in two decades. My tools are no longer a bulky bag full of: camera, lenses, light meter and filters, supported by a lab full of chemicals and equipment. The process is simplified now, as I only utilize the technology of my phone. But the obsessive decision making remains the same. I document the inexplicable beauty of the familiar. I fabricate plots, characters and narratives by manipulating reality. I share these digital allegories in my practice.