My favorite photograph of this week, perhaps this month is this image, Edifi by Argentine photographer, Fernando Maubecin. Fernando has been working on his Double Exposure Series for a decade now, and I've been consistently impressed and really taken aback by the luminosity, depth and resonance of the work.
I love how the gold buildings in the center seem to be a nucleus for the unfinished architectural shell that fills the frame. I can't help but think this is the soulful, light-as-god work of Andreas Gorsky's antagonist; the potential emotional side of Gorsky's twin psyche. Light. Structure. Texture. Form.
I don't know the story behind this image in particular, however, in his earlier series, I know he was interested in making a mini-narrative composite of time, space and the elements. This image, Luziwet was exposed as a full roll in Seattle of water images, then exposed again on the streets and interior public & private spaces of New York City. Can anyone recognize that light source?
Both of these 35mm images were shot on his Nikon F4 (the all metal parts, big ton of tool, single lens reflex) a camera that was introduced in 1988 and for anyone still shooting 35mm (Is Anyone Else?), it's still a totally amazing and capable camera. Obviously, Fernando is an old school, technical and yet intuitional photographer. He sees light. He plans for the composition in his mind. With this Double Exposure Series, he has two processes: one is to shoot a whole role of 35mm film often choosing to focus on texture and the materiality of light, then he re-exposes the film, frame by frame, keeping in mind the amount of light exposure that has already saturated the film in the first take. His other process, made possibly by the Nikon F4's exposure lock button, allows him to plan the image, shoot, and then re-shoot immediately. I can't tell you just how pleased I am that Fernando continues with this series. Take a look at what's come before and some of his recent work on his flickr site. And keep your fingers crossed that we'll be able to bring him from Valencia, Spain for a show.XO,
gallery extraña
Edifi, Fernando Maubecin, 2011.
Luziwet, Fernando Maubecin, 2003-4
