(re)collection (2012)
Kari Orvik
Water Resistance, 2012
Found photo print washer with engraved acrylic
“Looking at these photographs, whose corroded surfaces represent immeasurable loss, I wanted to focus on the parts of the images that resisted being erased.
In general, more recent photographs were the ones most completely washed away – likely printed on desktop home printers using inks that were not resistant to water. Some of the older photographs, created during a time when photochemistry was a wet process, managed to better retain the impressions of faces, hands, architecture or water.
When I found this print washer, used to rinse off photochemistry from a photographic print, it reminded me that water could be an integral part of revealing and preserving images. Washing the print leaves the paper chemically inert, extending the durability of the image. Through the process of engraving some of these images into the washer’s acrylic dividers, hidden parts of the photographs still held within the paper’s surface were revealed. What remains of these memories is a testament to the resilience of their material.” – Kari Orvik
(re)collection – A collaboration with Lost and Found: Family Photos Swept by the 3.11 East Japan Tsunami
September 12 – October 27, 2012
Intersection for the Arts
San Francisco, CA
Photo credit: Scott Chernis