DARK ROOM
is a collection of three photo series that I made in the early 1990’s. I recently re-discovered negatives, proof sheets and prints that make up this collection. These items were scanned and made into a document to make a limited edition of digital prints. The prints were collected and released as a limited edition portfolio.
MONSTERS is the first series in this collection. It was done while a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. It is a group of self portraits that the negatives have been manipulated and distressed to the point of oblivion. I’ve long been fascinated in the process of metamorphosis/transmutation. Personal transformation can be a monstrous process but holds the possibility of discovering the universal.
ALL GOOD BOYS DO FINE is the second series in this collection. It is part of an artist’s book that included pages of illegible obliterated text from journals. This style of text can be seen in the background of the figures in the photos. It is inspired by the piece Mata Hari by the group Tuxedomoon from the ballet Divine by Maurice Béjart. “There’s a saying that goes: what goes around, comes around...”.
FIGURE STUDY is the last series in this collection. It shows the process in making the final print at the end. That print was made by multiple exposures, masking and overlays. The figure model is taken from the Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist by Stephen Rogers Peck. The proof sheet shows several of the negatives used in making the final print. Many of the negatives have deteriorated since that proof sheet was made and prints of those are included. In addition, masks, overlays and templates are shown. A print of the male model was also planned but never completed. The final print is meant to evoke questions of the spiritual, scientific, internal, and cosmic kind. These things can be studied and understanding found.
