“A Suspension of Perception”

 “A Suspension of Perception” is an exploration of a documentary subject using an alternative, historic method, the wet collodion process, which is a technique I’ve recently begun exploring. The body of work is a multimedia presentation with “up close and personal” large prints of immigrants from Mexico to South America, paired with video interviews, so viewers can hear the stories directly from the subjects.

Thirty-one years ago, I journeyed to Colombia to bring home our newly adopted daughter, Mariah. From the moment I held her, my life changed.New experiences with Latinos were revealed to me and I was overwhelmed by their love of children and family. Exposed to a different culture and language, I’ve been captivated ever since.

The wet collodion process offers a welcome challenge. Many steps can lead to many mishaps, however, magic happens along the way giving the final product a painterly quality. Meanwhile, the look achieved when using a large format camera that is different from the results rendered with a digital camera.  

This body of work has traveled to Manchester (CT) Community College (I was on an immigration discussion panel during the exhibition), Capital (CT) Community College, Tunxis (CT) Community  College, and Five Points Gallery in Torrington CT, where I was on a panel with other exhibiting artists.