HANDMADE
Cameraless, monotypes on gelatin-silver paper.
My Handmade series pushes against several covenants of photography: that photographic creation depends upon a lens; that photographs are produced through prescribed steps using manufactured materials and devices; and that photography is inherently reproductive, capable of yielding easily duplicated works.
These photographs cross into the realm of the printmaker’s monotype through the direct application of sunlight and photo chemistry to gelatin-silver paper—often in sequences that depart from the traditional order of exposure, developer, stop bath, and fixer. As monotypes, each print is a one-of-a-kind original that must be photographed for presentation in print and on screen.
As suggested by the series name, the use of my hand to apply chemistry and/or block light connects the work to the spirit of prehistoric cave paintings. My hand serves as a singular mark of my presence at the moment of creation. In dialogue with Alison Rossiter’s work, the series commemorates the signature appearances of commercially extinct photographic papers, preserved through the naming of each piece.
As with the other series discussed here, encountering the Handmade works in person underscores the distinction between authentic and facsimile experience. For viewers familiar with traditional gelatin-silver printing, unexpected metallic sheens and subtle hues emerge through close inspection—details diminished or lost entirely on screen. In this way, Handmade reinforces the idea that the true content of a photograph is not always what is most easily seen.