Camera Obscura: I invite you to come closer

We live in a fast-paced digital society. The world is getting flooded with images every day, hour, minute, second. We can reproduce them endlessly and we can change everything about it afterwards if we decide we want it differently. It is limitless.

In March 2020, due to Covid 19, the world went into lockdown. Both the slowing down of time and being in relative isolation was motive to reflect on time passed and time yet to come. I decided to go back to my roots and explore the ‘unique’ image.

The camera obscura has been around for hundreds of years. Used as a tool by scientist and artists like Leonardo Da Vinci and Johannes Vermeer. I decided to build my own ultra large camera obscura. Sitting inside, it takes time to get used to the dark and to immerse myself in the image which is projected inside the camera. Almost everything looks beautiful, with such detail. It is and intense experience to cut and put up the paper in the complete dark, only using touch as a reference. When I sit and watch the image during the long exposure times it feels like it is holding my time as well.

I use the RA-4 color reversal process to develop my prints. It’s an experimental process which fascinates me because it’s about ‘control’ and ‘let go’ at the same time. So many elements play a part in the final outcome of the print. Once the print is developed nothing can be changed. One has to embrace the imperfection or let go.

The outcome is a unique image. The photo becomes object.

In progress.