This semester we’re learning to use large-format cameras, though I haven’t used mine very often. The reasons are simple: it’s difficult to handle, and the camera itself is enormous—hardly something you can casually carry around. So it mostly stays in the studio at home, where I use it for still lifes and portraits.
Two friends and I are of similar height and proportion—almost an ideal sequence of broad–medium–slender. I had just bought a Rick Owens coat, and I photographed each of us wearing it, trying to determine what kind of body this somewhat avant-garde design truly belongs to.
I translated my essay Complex Fetishism into English, printed it on A4 paper, then layered it over one of the developed photographs. Beneath both, I placed a sheet of unexposed photographic paper. I then exposed the entire stacked structure to light, allowing the text and image to imprint together as a negative. To enhance contrast and make the text more legible, I used a 4½ filter.
The negative effect made us appear as if our souls had slipped out of our bodies. The floating text across the surface felt like thoughts suspended in the mind.
All in all, it was a successful experiment.