For me, photography starts with the location and what effect it has on the tone of the work. I realized early on that I wanted to do something with the influence of winter but knew that would bring natural limitations because of the harsh conditions outdoors. These obstacles lead me to think about which elements of the season I could recreate in the studio setting.
For these photos, I experimented with painting sheets of glass as lens filters to shine lights through to replicate icey surfaces and the ethereal qualities of coldness. I chose to make these effects with physical materials to add presence to the imagined space. The clouding around the glass creates an effect similar to brush strokes of a painting.
This appearance of brush strokes allowed me to apply aspects of impressionist painting to the photographs by allowing the figure and setting to blend together. In the same way that I’m interested in how location can affect an image, I’m interested in how surrounding environment plays into identity. With so many conversations in Michigan centered around how to “make it through the winter” it often feels like we’re trapped in cold, icey places such as this.
