Chi: the circulating life energy
that in Chinese philosophy is thought to be inherent in all things
Macabre: dwelling on the
gruesome, tending to produce horror in a beholder
Chimacabres come out at
night. They are around during the day
too of course, but the night is when they really thrive. In the dark it’s harder to tell if you’re
face to face with a fellow person, or if it’s a chimacabre in front of you, and
they don’t even have faces. No, they are
vicious, purely instinctual, unforgiving. They read you with the speed of a car
commercial disclaimer, immediately sniff out the soft spot, and burrow in
mercilessly. Once under their spell,
escape is a struggle, as they are as alluring as dangerous. They vary greatly
in their ranks. Some feed often, while
others only need one hit to fulfill their life purpose. Some may leave you in shambles just minutes
upon encounter, while others plant pernicious seedlings, which will erode your
foundation decades later. It takes a
while to build up immunity to chimacabres, and one is never fully safe, as they
keep evolving and following trends.
These gruesome creatures are actually
our own off-shoot. Through eons, their essence
has been shaped by the foul sludgy runoff from the continuous spiritual
distillation of humanity. Our communal
subliminal fears and basic desires, refined, enlarged, and reinforced by
existential self-perpetuation, remain their favorite delicacies.
Although chimacabres
evolved alongside human species in such a way as to be visually indistinguishable
with the naked eye, by pure chance, I discovered that spectral sensitivity of
daguerreotype technique, when combined with special lighting, allows for
photographic capture of their inner core.
Presented here, are five 4x5in plates of first clear specimens I was able
to portray. I hope to find and succeed in capturing more in the future.
Chimacabre #1
Chimacabre #2
Chimacabre #3
Chimacabre #4
Chimacabre #5
About the medium:
Daguerreotype technique
was unveiled in 1839, and remained as main process of image making through
1850s. Each daguerreotype plate is a unique object, not unlike a Polaroid in
that sense. They are however rather laborious when compared to other
photographic processes. A daguerreotype plate is prepared and sensitized by hand,
and the image is created upon a pure silver surface via development using
mercury fumes. The final result is a microstructure of silver, mercury, and
gold upon a mirror silver surface. The surface exhibits strong opalescence and
an almost holographic dimensionality to it, the properties which are only
apparent when one is holding these objects in front of them, and are impossible
to capture in any form of mass reproduction.
Thus, daguerreotypes on the screen appear much like any other
‘photograph’, when in fact nothing can be further from the truth.
I strongly believe that
these images represent the first time ever that daguerreotype technique has
been combined with light painting.
A great deal of thanks are in order to the infinite patience exhibited by Jozlynn, my lovely model, who strained her body over and over again in order for these images to come to life.
Anton
Anton