Secretions, A Series (2021)
Materials
Lumen prints on silver gelatin paper, glass beads, thread, flower petals, pieces of bread, and crown daisy
Dimensions
8 x 10 inches
Skills
Lumen printing, solar exposure photograms, digital color modification
Description
“Secretion” is a series of solar-exposure contact prints created by pressing objects against photographic paper and exposing them to sunlight. The sun burns the bodies of these objects onto the surface, leaving behind a secretion of its material existence.
Through this deliberate process of corporeal memorialization using sunlight, this body of work explores the labor performed by the earthly body. Through both visceral illustrations and symbolic representations—the secretion of fluids, the offering of flesh, the drying of delicate petals, the coagulation of fat under skin, the withering of plant matter—“Secretions” speaks to the very real, tangible existence of the earth as sites of exploitation and conquest, as well as power and transformation, much like the human flesh.