Stacy Lynn Waddell
I plumb the Internet, collect vernacular photography, and forage a wide range
of printed materials to discover sources that are transformed by a variety of
processes: burning/laser technology, accumulation, embossing/debossing,
interference, physical distressing, and gilding.
With its associations to value and trade, the historic role of the gold standard
in establishing modern banking and the distribution of wealth, gold is central
to my effort to synthesize the intersection of popular culture and history
with issues related to visibility, desire, and power.
Gold leaf allows for the construction of monochromes with provocative
optical effects, much like that of a hologram. Images cannot be fully seen
from one vantage point; textured surfaces and modulations in shine require
the viewer to physically shift positions to fully view the image while offering
endless opportunities for interpretation.
The work’s dependence on light and the surrounding environment ensure that
the image is never fixed, forcing a slower, more deliberate consideration that
illuminates a universal desire to connect to that which sight and intellect
cannot fully account for.