Retouch
photographic series, 2018-2019
Retouching is an often invisible, technical process meant to eliminate imperfections in visual imagery. Brushes, stamps and algorithms move, hide, alter, and replace visual contaminants to “clean up” images. Retouching alters what we see and when made visible is a record of decisions about what belongs in an image and what doesn’t. In both physical and digital spaces, retouching processes are not dissimilar to a painter’s process; both require time, labor, skill, and a discerning eye.
With this project, I am interested in framing the retouching process as a method of creation instead of elimination. The paintings in this series are layered artifacts of the digital retouching processes themselves, with the object of the retouching removed. What is left over when the original image is eliminated is a visible record of the retouching process; complex layerings of composition and color created by pixel selection tools, algorithmic filters, and digital brushstrokes. Because of the nature of this type of process, parts of the original images can remain embedded in the retouching even after they are eliminated. Echoes of fabric, organic materials, surface textures and faint spatial borders intermingle with digital artifacts as the process of covering up becomes uncovered.
With this project, I am interested in framing the retouching process as a method of creation instead of elimination. The paintings in this series are layered artifacts of the digital retouching processes themselves, with the object of the retouching removed. What is left over when the original image is eliminated is a visible record of the retouching process; complex layerings of composition and color created by pixel selection tools, algorithmic filters, and digital brushstrokes. Because of the nature of this type of process, parts of the original images can remain embedded in the retouching even after they are eliminated. Echoes of fabric, organic materials, surface textures and faint spatial borders intermingle with digital artifacts as the process of covering up becomes uncovered.
Blue WIndows, Archival Inkjet Print, 30 x 40”.
Tunnel Vision, Archival Inkjet Print, 30 x 40”.
Dark Terrain, Archival Inkjet Print, 30 x 40”.
Skin On Skin, Archival Inkjet Print, 30 x 40”.
Remnant, Archival Inkjet Print, 30 x 40”. In private collection.
Penninsula Drift, Archival Inkjet Print, 30 x 40”.
Pink Noise, Archival Inkjet Print, 30 x 40”.
Quilt Block, Archival Inkjet Print, 30 x 40”.
Tower, Archival Inkjet Print, 30 x 40”.
Microcosm 02, Archival Inkjet Print, 24 x 30”.
Microcosm 01, Archival Inkjet Print, 24 x 30”.
Horizon Lines, Archival Inkjet Print, 24 x 30”.
Detail.
Detail.
Detail.