Breath Rayographs
A personal story through breath
Concept
Breath Rayographs, are produced directly in the darkroom without the use of camera. The method is inspired by the American DADA artist Man Ray's photographic technique, developed in 1919.
In the darkroom I breathe and shout onto ash placed on light-sensitive paper. The trace is captured by the light and developed following the normal steps for black-and-white photography. The photographs, which are in 1:1 format, show traces of my body and the working process; my hands, knees and mouth can be seen as empty, dark contours where the ash has been prevented from further movement by these physical obstacles.
“What the viewer sees on the image is the silence after the sound or the activity. It is the echo that is left on the paper, an absence of sound reminding us of a former presence. The absence is materialized in these images.”
— Camilla Eeg-Tverbakk, writer and curator (from catalog text White Noise, 2006)
Pulse
The interest of exploring the invisible and yet fundamental traces of living, in Breath Rayographs are connected to the project Pulse. With Pulse I investigate the intense presence that arises from sensing the pulse with fingers dipped in fingerprint dust. I transfer the imprint to a drawing film.
Pust meg fram! Breathe me visible
I have always felt that the Breath Rayographs were never fully explored. When deciding to teach the technique to inmates in the project Pust meg fram, I found the way I was looking for, to continue working with the theme.