issue two
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Eric Hoffer once said that “the difficult task of meeting and mastering the new is not undertaken by the vanguard of society”. It is not the celebrated artists and popular musicians that break the boundaries, constantly pushing forward taste and what is canonical. Rather, it is those who lay behind at the very bottom of the pile who are the first to render new techniques. It is they who then become the celebrated, to rise and form the new avant-garde. 22 year-old Felix Williams is one of these, starting a new photography movement straight from her bathtub in Ramona, Oklahoma. Colour Twelve spoke to her to find out more. C12: Felix, you’ve produced some stunning photographs through what you call “Chembellishism”. Aside from being one of the best portmanteaus we’ve ever heard, what is Chembellishism?! FW: Photography movement destiny has caused me to begin pioneering circa mid-2008. The fine Art technique of embellishing negatives through unique chemical recipes to specifically enhance the moods and meanings of photographic images. C12: So we assume you have a book full of these recipes? FW: It certainly would be ideal to have a recipe book to reflect on someday. Until I get around to that though, I currently treat negatives just like a piece of paper or canvas. I do what I feel. Mix it up. You know, experiment.
TC12: Purely experimental! It’s great that you’re not too formulaic. What do you find works best for chembellishing? FW: Some of my favorite tools bleach, and boiling water for off after dying (before taking be rescanned). Rice and other can work magic, too.
are salt, dyes, getting the gunk back to the lab to household cleaners
I highly recommend enhancing your photographs chemically after processing. I have seen some fabulous products come from soaking film canisters prior to development — if you want to do that — but unless you have your own C-41 machine, it can cause complications with some labs. TC12: Working with pictures after they’ve been processed obviously gives you a wider scope to chembellish according to the subject. Do you take photographs you know you’ll want to chembellish, or do you pick at random and work with those? FW: When I feel like chembellishing I usually look through my most recent negatives. I just pick out those that have compositions I feel like working with. I do go on specific shoots sometimes for more definite results. So both. --Felix selected four photographs for us to display as representations of chembellishism.
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Many thanks to the contributors, who can all be found on Flickr by searching for their names as listed above. The featured photographs can also be found in our Flickr group, at http://www.flickr.com/groups/thecolourtwelve/
Colour Twelve is published by Steeeve Messer. cargocollective.com/colourtwelve colourtwelve@renegatus.com Issue Two - 11.2010 This Document and the contents thereof are protected worldwide by copyright and related intellectual property rights. Users are free to download, use and redistribute this file, provided that it is not modified and that the copyright and disclaimer notice are not removed. This file or its content – as such or in whatever way combined – may not be sold for profit or incorporated in commercial documents without the written permission of the copyright holder. Unauthorized inclusion of single pages, graphics or other components of this document in other web sites, print products or electronic media is prohibited. All contents Š the respective artists.
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