I have an enduring interest in both the tangible solidity of sculpture and the ephemeral spirituality of photography. I have explored them separately and have combined them with the intention of creating experiences that might not otherwise exist.
I have long been fascinated by the visual qualities of pinhole photography because pinhole images are more closely related to how we actually remember the past. The softened and somewhat indistinct edges are rich in texture and symbol, yet free of the distracting detail associated with images gathered through a lens. Pinhole photographs seem to be more about the passage of time itself; thus, more about memory. A pinhole camera’s longer exposures actually do include extended evidence of the stream of time. I believe that these qualities allow a pinhole photograph to distill an event into its very essence, and I frequently seek to reproduce those traits when using more contemporary camera equipment.
The kinetic sculptures were functional machines that operated either by remote control or by following a preset arc and were armed with modified cameras to record photographs as they moved through the water. The sculptures and the photographs they produced existed as part of a process intended to explore a relinquished state of control in the image gathering / creative process. As functional machines, the sculptures were precise in their construction and movements. The photographs were produced through indirect observation and control until the post event process of selection took place.
My premise has been to expand my own definition of photography and sculpture. The sculptures may be kinetic machines that recorded photographs or may have come into being as the result of the inspiration of a photographic image. In the latter I was questioning the process of apparent cause and effect by creating sculptures that evolved directly from the inspiration of my own photographs. The combined images suggest that a more comprehensive understanding may be found beneath the allure of the photographic surface.
My more recent narrative work continues to combine photography and sculpture as a means of expanding the sense of physical space in works that seek to examine various aspects of culture. By utilizing panoramic photographs as backdrops for diminutive forms and figures, a larger scale can be implied; therefore, the viewer is invited to become a virtual participant in the event.