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.

Algo que tradicionalmente ha sido un poco difícil de la fotografía artística es encontrar maneras de compartirlo. Participé el año pasado en una exposición de grupo, con mis compañeros del grupo local “Artquimía” como parte del evento “Fotonoviembre”. Se montó una exposición colectiva de nuestro trabajo en una sala de la galería “El Olímpo” en la plaza principal de Mérida. Mi contribución a la colectiva fue una instalación en forma de tablero compuesto de 20 imagenes sobre el tema del agua. Me encantó verlo montado en la galería, pero despues envolví los trabajos y los guardé en un closet (y la verdad es que se me están llenando los closets). Así que me dio mucho gusto cuando me invitaron amigos fotógrafos a participar con una muestra de mi trabajo en un sitio nuevo de fotografía, Fotoforo y así poder sacarlas a la luz, aunque sea de manera virtual. El sitio de Fotoforo tiene mucho de interés para cualquier persona interesada en la fotografía artística en Yucatan, ¡no lo dejen de visitar!

I was honored to be invited, along with a group of very talented visual artists from Yucatán to show my work at the Cervantine Festival in Guanajuato, one of the most important cultural activities in Mexico. The Institute of Culture of the state of Yucatan sponsored the exhibit, and chose two pieces from this series of images I created around the theme of memory.

Fue un honor para mi ser invitada, junto con un grupo de talentosas artístas visuales de Yucatan, para exponer en el Festival Cervantino de Guanajuato, uno de los eventos culturales mas importantes del país. La exibición fue patrocinado por el Instituto de Cultura de Yucatán, quienes eligieron llevar dos piezas de este serie de imagenes que creé con el tema de la memoria.

These two pieces were created for a group exhibit. The theme was the ocean and I wanted to do something a little different. I ended up combining a positive on 8×10¨film that I developed from a medium format negative in the darkroom, one of my polaroid transfers, two 35 mm slides, a slide projector and a digital camera, the final prints were made on watercolor type paper. There may have been an easier way, but that was how this little project evolved.

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.