Artists Statement

FIELD MIRROR PHOTOGRAPHY

“Field Mirror photography” is much more than photographing a reflection; it produces a visual alchemy that combines the physical world with that of the great mystery. Photographing with mirrors allows me to see the invisible, and capture a spirit, strength, and human dignity that remains hidden in straight photography. 

The use of elongation in indigenous and Western art has long been an archetype for the unconscious.  The yearning to greet the sun, and the grounded nature of roots, elongates the plant to reach skyward. Following in this tradition, I use my mirror to shine into the internal, deep spaces where we universally connect to something greater than ourselves. The artifact of the mirror illustrates the link between human consciousness and the natural world.

The archival pigment prints are made on rag paper.  I use a split-tones to symbolize our connection to the earth. These subtile tones are those of the earth as seen from space; blue, brown and the paper-white. The silvery blue tones in the highlights represent air; breath, sky, and ocean. The warm brown tones in the shadow areas denote the body of trees, animals, people, and the land. These tones, combined with the elongation, represent our interconnectedness to each other and to the natural world. 

The platinum prints are a single warm tone, with a luminous sheen. These prints use an emulsion made with the fine metal platinum, that is hand coated onto rag paper. Platinum printing is a fine art, 19th century photographic process. 

All my photographs are taken with medium and large format film cameras. There are no digital special effects in any of my work. The prints are all mirror reflections in a genre I refer to as, “field mirror photography.”  This is a technique I created and began using in 1983, in Paris.

I am a multi-racial American living between Normandy, France and California.  My fascination with indigenous culture began at home with family stories when I was a child. 

Thank you so much for your interest in my work and story. 

Elisabeth Sunday, 2018