Curatorial Work 2014-23 > Transitions

Exhibition Statement
Line is an important signifier throughout many of my works. A sequence of events is presented as a time line and we often think of life as moving forward linearly from point A to point B and so forth. When I create a drawn line, I reflect on the beginning and end point and the distance and path between the two. These works were created using an ammonia-based blueprint method. This process involves using treated Diazo paper, a highly concentrated ammonia solution and a Diazo machine. Drawings are created on transparencies, laid on top of the treated paper, and fed through the machine, which “exposes” the paper using ammonia vapors and a black light found inside the machine. Working in this medium supports my explorations of identity, loss, and memory as factors that build personal identity.

Wherever light is blocked from passing through on the vellum, the treated paper turns blue through a chemical response. Light and chemical reactions take the drawing and make something of it that is a reflection of the original but transform it into something completely new. Today one is hard-pressed to find a Diazo machine in operation because of its inefficiency compared to laser and ink-jet printers, as well as irregularity in reproduction quality. But the irregularity is one of the most endearing qualities of this process. Each print is unique, even when using the same drawing. The unpredictable and subtly altered quality each time the paper and drawing are run through is compelling. I am also enticed by the role of light in the blueprint process, that the resulting image is produced by a chemical reaction involving light. Light and its unique qualities have been symbolic of the Divine throughout history. By using blueprint methods as a loaded carrier of content I can comment on the sacred in my own life as an agent of change.