SHADOWS IN DUST: BASE LEVEL Like many artists, I've most often worked on the principle that the success of any outcome owes to the amount of labour invested. Working as a professional for almost three decades, there are occasions when this correlation doesn't always hold true. At times, less self-conscious actions and circumstance take dominance in the process, and perhaps this has something to do with surrendering to an event larger than ourselves, being open to the unexpected, trying something new, embracing accidents. The digital prints in this exhibit are examples of what may occur when an intended path is unavailable and another presents itself. In summer 2013 I was working toward a site-specific exhibition project in Poland, Second Sight: Shadows in Dust.
Image of the exhibit Second Sight: Shadows in Dust (https://vimeo.com/71704277); Remnant shadows in dust, left by removal of paintings.
The venue for the installation was also the space in which I would work, the former studio of a painter, contained within a large apartment block in the centre of Krak贸w. Though the space was emptied of all personal effects, it was otherwise untouched for decades. So untouched were the rooms, there were subtle shadows of dust remaining on the walls where paintings and drawings had been hung for many years. Though the floors had been swept, there was a delicate layer of dust and other residue, especially around the edges, along the baseboard moulding. My project in Krak贸w was delayed by limited access to the old studio, though I was allowed some time during each day to explore the spaces and formulate a work plan, and take some photographs of the space. I have done a lot of photography in my life, but primarily for documentary purposes, less so with creative intent. I began to photograph the old spaces, on occasion composing images, on other occasions, allowing the position and/or settings of the camera to influence how images were captured. I set the camera to a very shallow depth of field, with extended exposure. For some shots, I lay on the floor with my camera, shooting what appeared of little consequence, allowing the auto-focus to choose a point automatically.
Image of the floor, auto-focus picking up on sand and other residue on the linoleum.
I shot images in a somewhat random fashion, not over-thinking what I was doing. Later I looked at the images on my laptop and was struck by the indescribable quality of the shots, amazed that photographs of "nothing" had the power to engage some level of my interest in a unique manner. For me the result seemed almost too easy, and so I questioned its validity though perhaps not its authenticity. Recalling my career, this sort of outcome has occurred several times, and each time it does, I stand back a bit bemused and ask myself "did I do that?", knowing full well that the answer is no, I didn't do that, but was part of the process that led to this outcome. I have hundreds of these images, and have selected only four to exhibit, in the event there is anyone who might think they are interesting as well. I don't assert anything particularly profound about the images, but do find something intriguing about them . . . though I am at a loss to say why.
John W. Ford
The work in the exhibit has been made possible in part by the Ontario Arts Council, and the project in Poland was made possible by an Arts Research Board from McMaster University, and under the honorary patronage of the Dean, Intermedia Faculty/Cracowian Academy, professor Artur Tajber.