Artist statement: My work is concerned with the dual issues of representation and the mechanical means of reproduction.
My practice involves the use of vernacular or found images and the manipulation of the tension between representation and abstraction. Since photographic image-making has existed, manipulation has been inherent in photographic practice, often employed in the service of overt or covert political intent.
The ghost in the machinery of this image is human desire, love and contact. This piece is part of a series made in the context of the Chechen government’s assertion that there are no homosexuals in Chechnya – this claim was made at a time when it was reported that gay men had been rounded up, interned, tortured and murdered in that country.
Also known as Giclee prints or bubble-jet prints, pigment ink-jet prints are generated by computer printers from digital or scanned files using dye-based or pigment-based inks. A series of nozzles spray tiny droplets of ink onto the paper surface in a precise pattern that corresponds to the digital image file. In dye-based prints the ink soaks into the paper, whereas in pigment-based prints the ink rests and dries on top of the paper surface.
Whilst the term is broad, pigment ink-jet prints have come to be associated with prints produced on fine art papers. They are the most versatile and archival method of printing available to photographers today. A wide variety of material on which an image can be printed with such inks are available, including various textures and finishes such as matte photo paper, watercolour paper, cotton canvas or pre-coated canvas.
