VESTIGE

Vestige is a series of lumen prints in which ephemera from my body directly interacts with silver gelatin paper, creating a non-representational self-portrait. In these color- scape photograms, the female form, which is subjected to an onslaught of societal pressure and objectification, defies conventional representation, appearing as mark- making and surface disruptions on photographic paper. Lush pinks, mauves, and reds directly engage a "female" palate while subverting the recognizable for the abstract. Throughout the series, the repetition of the circle is not a direct reference to the body, but a nod to its absence.

Lumen prints are a historic photographic process; they are made by exposing silver gelatin paper to light for extended periods. The paper develops outside the darkroom, needing only sodium thiosulfate to fix the image. By making these photograms outdoors, I connect my body to the environment I live in. Day-to-day changes in light and temperature directly affect the individual print's outcome. Although these images resemble paintings, they are fundamentally photographic; the colors and their variations directly relate to the type of paper used, exposure time, and UV in the light source.

This project is a natural extension of my work with figurative and portrait photography. Instead of a classic depiction of my body, these images reinterpret the gaze by eliminating sensuality (the body) for the sublime (abstraction), creating a new self-portrait while challenging representation of the corporeal. Here, the physical remnants of my body are an affirmation and serve as evidence of my existence. These images become a collaboration between process and intention while addressing themes of identity, mortality, and the body from a uniquely female perspective.