C M Y

(sketch for public sculpture)

A photograph is always a construction. We use light and equipment to capture an image if the world on a two-dimensional surface. The loss of information inherent in this process we accept unthinkingly.  Lots of photographers explore that selectivity/objectivity in their work.  

Scientific photography appears to be objective, but nothing could be further from the truth. Scientific photos are colored, cut, and assembled from hundreds of images taken at different times or from different angles.

CMY is a photographic installation that attempts to make us aware of the construction of the image through deconstruction. Three glass plates are placed in a row. Printed on them is a SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) image of a chicory pollen grain. The images were created by dividing the original photo into its component colors (cyan, magenta, and yellow). When lit by the sun, and seen from a certain angle, the image will transform. Subtle color shifts create surreal effects, showing that the photographic image is not only produced by its manner of construction, but also by the viewer’s vantage point.  

The original photograph of the chicory pollen was made by Steve Gschmeissner