WORK

From the river of the sun; from the river of the sky

This project is an examination of time and place created during the summer of 2021, a time that saw very low water levels and drought conditions in Manitoba. This exploration was conducted using solargraphy, a lensless form of analogue photography that captures the path of the sun directly onto darkroom light-sensitive paper. These ultra-long exposures were created with basic homemade pinhole cameras that I made from recycled aluminium beverage containers. I planted the cameras directly into the riverbed clay near the middle of the river, a part of the river revealed by the very low water level. I used found driftwood and river rocks to secure the cameras in place. Over a period of nearly a month, the cameras recorded the movement of the sun from their positions on the riverbed. Mysterious interventions caused the cameras to move, creating unexpected sun trails. These interventions could be attributed to movement by the wind, water, and potential human or animal interactions.

Archival inkjet prints from analogue pinhole negatives, 32″w x 26″h, driftwood, Manitoba Tyndall stone, river mussels. 2021.

Pinhole cameras in situ in the middle of the Assiniboine River, summer 2021. The very low water level reveals the riverbed of rock, clay and river mussel shells.

^{Digital scan of paper negatives. Solar 32, Solar 33, Solar 34 and Solar 35, 2021}