Latent Image
Latent Image (2012-2015)
Expanding upon previous investigations into historical and wet-based photographic processes, Latent Image not only looks into the earliest forms of production within the medium, but also rebukes the direction of the predominant photographic methods in use today. Starting with Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre’s “mirror with a memory” and William Henry Fox Talbot drawing with “nature’s” pencil, I am actively researching the techniques invented in the first 75 years of the medium’s history. As a result of these findings, I am producing contemporary interpretations of these earliest techniques to reflect our current era and our ever-changing relationship to the visually recorded moment.
The scope of this project focuses on the most relevant techniques from photography’s origin: heliograph, photogenic drawing, salted paper and albumen printing, cyanotype, the calotype negative, wet-plate collodion and hand poured silver gelatin emulsion. My intention throughout these contemporary reinterpretations is consistent despite the chemical and material variations employed in their production: through a self-reflexive working methodology, Latent Image encourages a renewed interest in the way photographs were, and can still be, produced. It also presents a counterpoint to current trends in the consumer-driven marketing strategies of capturing images both easier and faster. Through Latent Image, I am learning that it’s sometimes better to take the exact opposite approach.
