Image Matter
Image Matter was a collaboration with Dr. Kevin Robbie, a physicist at Queen’s University, that made use of a scanning electron microscope to image the edge-on (thickness) view of various photographic media. The resultant images were presented on a very large scale (16 inches by 7.5 feet and in some cases 16 inches x 15 feet wide) thus emphasizing the physicality of the photograph and removing all traces of the actual image content—the image content was only referred through the use of captions.
The goal of the project was to emphasize the physicality of the photograph—separating the photographic object from the photographic image—as a way to question notions of value pertaining to photographic images and to investigate how such notions have been altered by advances in digital technology and the introduction of non-physical, digital property. In addition to physical exhibition of the artworks, the project was extended through the production of an online gallery, which made the artwork freely available through a Creative Commons Non-commercial Attribution License.
Photographer unknown. My Grandfather's (Albert R. Bowles) military identity photograph. Circa 1939. Gelatin-silver print. - From the series Image Matter (2006), archival inkjet print 16 inches x 7.5 feet.
Photographer unknown. Photograph of an old man with strange eyes. Date unknown. Tintype. - From the series Image Matter (2006), archival inkjet print 16 inches x 7.5 feet.