On Tofte Lake
2023 - 2024In June 2023, I spent 2 weeks at Tofte Lake Center in Ely, MN as part of their National Emerging Artist Residency. I created a series of experimental videos, photos, and cyanotypes exploring the ways different modes of image document space and time. I played with exposure times, focal lengths, movement, and lighting. How does altering these settings change how the camera interprets the environment? How does a photo of the same object manifest differently digitally, on film, and on paper? How does an experimental approach reveal something about time, space, and the act of image-making that a traditional approach does not?
Above: Currents is 60 seconds of an infinite video loop. It contrasts the flowing, natural currents of the water with the hard edges of the digital screen via collage. Currents was installed in an exhibition at Public Functionary gallery in Minneapolis in November of 2023.
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Below: Brackish is a short essay film that examines issues of memory and image-making through various camera sources, editing, voice over, and expressionistic sound design. Edited after the residency in my home in Minneapolis, the experience of memory and recall is juxtaposed with the experience of shooting the footage.
My two weeks in-residence gave me free reign to experiment with my approach. Using both film and digital cameras, I experimented with exposure times and camera motion. This technique left me partially at the mercy of chance, but resulted in stunning photos which emphasize shape, color, and motion.
I created 90+ cyanotype prints, documenting shadows and imprints of the nature around Tofte Lake. The slow exposure process of cyanotypes and their somewhat abstract representation of their subjects contrasts with the camera captures.
