Slowing seeing
“We constantly string our observations together to form a continuity of time-space experience - an internal film of sorts.”
The relationship between photography and sculpture is central to my work. Photographing is not merely documentation of the work, but a way in which to stop time and observe and articulate certain aspects of the sculpture. The angle, light, time (with rain or movement for instance; or more subtly the atmospheric density), are halted for a moment: it is difficult for the us to see that moment without the photograph.
When we actively slow down and observe, breathe, we are closer to stopping this film, and perhaps rest in the present - an intersection of heightened observation and meditation for instance. What is this? The more visually complex a work is the more difficult it is to do this. Experience that emerges from the current culture, the fast paced image processing of media, television, film, urbanity – the Disneyland effect – pushes the viewer away from the moment, from observing, and encourages us to focus on the ideas present, coaxing them into the mind and thought. Thought is essential, but seductive and often inaccurate. Will the water, glass, and light condition amplify, focus, and slow down the moment?