The art of photography is very much alive and well in Mexico. I was happy to be asked to participate along with 4 very talented female photographers, Colleen Casey, Socorro Chablé, Patricia Martín and Karen Pullich in a photography exhibit at the Galería Mérida, a private gallery here in Mérida, Yucatán. My contribution to the exhibit are three photographs from a series of images entitled Nichos, 16×20¨ Cibachromes (printed directly from 35 mm slides, the Cibachromes have an emulsion that is almost metallic and I think very special.) I worked on the Nichos series images for at least 3 years, 30 were exhibited a few years ago as an installation as part of Fotonoviembre at the Olimpo here in Merida, Yucatan, and it was a pleasure to share a few at the Galería Mérida and another few here on my art blog.

The show is open to the public and runs from March 29 until April 19, 2008. It is open daily except Tuesday, from 10 am to 6 pm, the gallery address is Calle 59 · 452 (por 54 y 52), Mejorada, Centro, Mérida, Yucatán, México.

It was a great honor to have a photograph included in the group art exposition that marked the inauguration of Merida Yucatán´s new municipal art gallery. The gallery is in the very heart of historic Mérida, Yucatán, in the former post office (Correos) building and the exhibit hung at the grand opening in November, 2007 and into February of 2008. I was unable to attend the inauguration because of travel, but it was really cool to see the Diario de Yucatan’s (our local newspaper) write-up, which featured a photograph of the mayor, Cesar Borjorquez closely examining none other than my contribution to the exhibit…I will choose to assume he was commenting favorably on the piece, although he may well have been asking why on earth that one was chosen as part of the gallery’s first show. This photograph is one of my favorites, I printed it myself to 24×30¨ and I love how it looks in that large size.

Fue un gran honor ser invitada a participar en la exposción colectiva para la inauguración de la nuea galería de arte municipal de Mérida, Yucatán, México. La galería está situada en el corazón del centro historico de Mérida, Yucatán, en el ex edificio de correos, estuvo puesto de noviembre 2007 a febrero 2008. No pude asisstir a la inauguración, por estar fuera de la ciudad, pero me gustí ver en el periodico local, El Diario de Yucatán, al alcalde Cesaár Bojorquez estudiando mi contribución a la expo, voy a decidir creer que estaba dando un comentario favorable, pero posiblemente preguntaba por que motivo esa fotografía había sido incluido en la inauguración. Esta fotografía es de mis favoritas y lo imprimí a 24×30¨pulgadas, me encanta como se ve en ese tamaño.

One of the things that I really like about living in Yucatan is being surrounded by tropical plants. I made these images a while ago, I had started really observing the leaves and other forms in nature and was amazed at the wonderful shapes I had not previously paid much attention. I really liked being able to use the contrast of black and white and sought to isolate the shapes of the leaves within a square composition.

I thought I would start out this gallery of my personal fine art work with images I created using one of my favorite techniques, the Polaroid transfer. These photographs are from a series of images entitled “Susurros del Eden Secreto” which in English translates as “Whispers from the Secret Eden.” Made with the image transfer technique, they are small, intimate, and impossible to repeat. Soft and delicate, they remind me of whispers and make me wonder about the secrets the natural world might like to share.

The images [in this series] are projected from slides onto Polaroid film, using a Daylab, then transfered using hot water and a roller to Fabriano watercolor paper. I learned early on that what attracts me most about these images are the defects that can occur as part of the wet transfer process, so I keep the technique loose and uncontrolled. Elements such as uneven borders, air bubbles and smears allow the image to interact with the surface of the paper and give the finished work a natural look that I enjoy very much.

I love these photographs so much they are framed and hanging on my wall. They are special to me because they depict kids happily being kids, I love that! They also represent to me some of my first baby steps in seeing the world through a more photojournalistic perspective. I printed them full frame in the darkroom with no cropping of the negative, and was very pleased with the happy images that had been captured so quickly in the viewfinder.