Elizabeth Stone: Skins, Shells and Meats

December 4, 2014 – January 25, 2015
Opening: Saturday, Dec 6, 6-9pm
Gallery Talk: Dec 6, 7pm

Skins, Shells and Meats is an ongoing examination of my photographic analog materials from 1994 to 2007. Looking purely at the physicality of these slides and sheets of film has catapulted me into a new realm of expression. I strive to walk the line between impulse and calculation – as the materials have an energy, force and direction of their own.

In the winter of 2013 I was packing for a one month artist-in-residence program in Wyoming. I approached my file cabinets which housed thousands of 35mm slides and stacks of film. The significant images had all been scanned and digitized, but what remained was photographs that still held memories. I dropped everything into boxes to take to Wyoming.

On the second day of my residency, I disassembled my 35mm slides, and pulled the film from their plastic sleeves. The process was freeing. The sleeves are like skins that contain and hold the valuable content in place. The slide mounts act like structural containers; these are the shells. The film is the meat – my insides, dreams and memories. I balance layers of meats, shells or skins into temporary sculptures, which I then photograph. There is no glue, nor clay. It is a tricky balancing act akin to making a house of cards. Light comes solely from two old, forgotten light-boxes. Inside these boxes the bulbs are aging. They emit color that ranges from blue to apricot.

As I consider line, color, and shape with focused detachment, accidents happen, gestures appear and I am enamored. Transfixed and obsessed with the possibilities, I use remnants and bones from my past to create anew.

BIO
Elizabeth Stone is a Montana based artist who’s work explores identity and impermanence by combining her study of photography and drawing with biology and digital technology. The duality of art and science is a strong influence and she frequently looks to the natural environment as a point of departure when considering her own place in the world and the marks she makes. Influenced by artists as diverse as Harry Callahan, Alberto Giacometti and Franz Kline, she uses a strict practice to push what is expected of the photographic medium.

Elizabeth’s studies of place and passage of time typically extends for years before she produces a portfolio of limited edition prints. She is grateful for the many artist in residences that she has been awarded which provide her with concentrated focus for creating original work while engaging in stimulating intellectual dialog with other artists.