This past month has been a blur as I’ve been testing equipment to take to the Boreal Forest this summer for my upcoming residency in Saxnäs, as well planning and searching for local guides who can assist while making work at the residency. I’ve been warned the weather can change suddenly in the mountains and I’ll be carrying gear and working at late hours during the midnight sun. I’m also researching where I’ll be photographing in the forest on the way in areas that have more chance to encounter bear and moose.
Above is a little test image and some of the work I’m planning to build upon the light installations and projections in the forest. Earlier this month I had a brief break to photograph in the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) to test projectors, batteries, and equipment. Although the work I’ll be doing is very different it gives a little peek into the project.
Just south of the Arctic Circle, I'll be working surrounded by Nature reserves and mountains.
While dodging the rain in the forest with cameras this month, I’ve been working and pushing the experimental studio based projects. In addition to continuing the reverse camera drawings I’ve been working with a series of drone gesture drawings. I arrived at making this work while thinking about other ways we remotely view or interact with a modern lens. I thought at first I would experiment with a mini toy before adding a larger more expensive drone with a camera. Like my Selfie Obscura drawings this is really work in progress and I suspect one piece to the puzzle for a larger project down the road.
Working out details with medium after crashing the drone a ridiculous amount of times into the studio walls and ceiling. This has been a challenging learning curve to master before the next step of working remotely with video or a camera. I’m searching for a larger space with controlled airflow due to currents as I learned the drafts from the windows in the studio made it hard to work.
Here is a little video of the work in progress I’ve been pitching to a few programs in hopes of finding a space to continue on a larger scale. It seems a little early to write artist statements as I feel like I’m still grasping at the next step, but below is a little documentation along the way.
Loosely inspired by my son who builds make-believe “drones” with his Legos, if there is anything I’ve learned from watching him it is that play is the heart of problem solving. I feel like I’m making a departing leap making this work compared to other projects. They seem to tickle this left-brain intuition and right brain tech-heavy-tool-using skill in a different but similar way compared to working with a camera.
Although several of my experimental projects incorporate drawing techniques mediated by a camera, I really see this as another way to record beyond a traditional photograph. Plus I confess, making dorky drone doodles is a lot of fun!
I want to make more!