With the advent of digital photography, and later social media sites like Instagram and Facebook, some of the magic of photography has been lost. Very rarely do photographers spend hours hunched over in dark rooms, painstakingly developing negatives in the hope that the shot would be the one. Photography was a kind of miracle, some said. We sought to reclaim some of that magic by using early photography methods as inspiration for our own work. We were further inspired by the question of identity.
In front of the lens, I am at the same time: the one I think I am, the one I want others to think I am, the one the photographer thinks I am, and the one he makes use of to exhibit his art. In other words, a strange action: I do not stop imitating myself, and because of this, each time I am (or let myself be) photographed, I invariably suffer from a sensation of inauthenticity, sometimes of imposture…
(Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida)
We attempted to use these concepts to form our photographs. The end result is at the same time haunting, abstract and thought-provoking with an element of mystery. The subjects and forms are often open for people to interpretation. We invite you to do so.
Photographs by: Callay Boire-Shedd, Espen Swanson, Hannah Frazier