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Artist’s Statement
In the last few years, I have produced most of my artistic work using a Holga
camera—an all-plastic, completely manual, single-shutter-speed “toy” camera made
in China that uses medium-format film and creates square negatives. The Holga has
absolutely minimal construction, a plastic lens, a huge potential for light leaks and
incredibly indeterminate focusing. It is the antithesis of the digital camera with its
precision optics, rapid response times, and myriad and automatic options for image
control.
With a Holga, you must manually advance each frame of film, manually set one of
the two aperture settings and, finally, guesstimate at focusing. The Holga also is a
headstrong co-participant in the creative process: changing film is cumbersome and
time-consuming; the plastic lens and body are prone to change their effect on the film
over time; a light leak may develop unexpectedly.
Using the Holga, I get a constant reminder that ultimately, I am not in control. I can
only capture a reflection of what I think I see through the viewfinder. It is an unveiling
of what I am feeling at that moment, a sense of my immediate perception of the
energy, light and shapes that my intellect, heart and intuition are interpreting right
then, right there. The Holga’s limitations require me to accept its vagaries, as well
as to accept the unpredictability of what ultimately lies within the frame.
Similarly, I do absolutely minimal manipulation of the images during printing,
whether in the darkroom or digitally. As a result, the photographs very often reveal
the energy of the moment, rather than present a realistic representation of the
subject matter. |
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