WABI SABI BREEZE BLOCKS

Since 1996, I’ve been photographing in the Caribbean, mainly documenting the culture and history scene through its architecture. Many of my photographs have included ventilation blocks in a subtle way, within a wider view of a building’s exterior or interior. After creating my series SUBTEXT, found advertising walls in the NYC subway, I began to notice the textures of the walls in Trinidad more closely. This led me to the ventilation blocks that are originally utilitarian in purpose (to allow air to pass through) but became an aesthetic design feature of many homes from the 20th century throughout the Caribbean, as well as other regions of the world such as Latin America and Southern California. These graphic geometric shapes are a silent visual vernacular that often goes unnoticed even though they are in plain sight. I am fascinated by how the geometric shapes get used to create more complex patterns in different shapes and sizes and how people go about deciding which patterns to use and how. 

The Cyanotype Process

When I started photography in the 1990’s, I loved being in the darkroom and developing the black & white prints by hand using the various chemical processes. It was always very meditative, like a practice of mindfulness. Since the digital photography resolution, I’ve never felt that same sense of connection. 

I started using the historical process of cyanotypes recently because I wanted to create photographs without using “processing” them on the computer. To be able to use my hands again, be in “the darkroom,” and make the process as basic as possible with as little equipment needed. Cyanotypes are created by combining two chemicals to create a light-sensitive liquid. I then coat the watercolor paper with this liquid, let it dry, and then expose it to the sun for 15 minutes with a negative of the image sandwiched on top of the paper between a piece of glass. After washing the print in water, the blue color reveals itself in the places where the paper was exposed to the sunlight. 

Embrace Mistakes

Every work of art in this series consists of mistakes and imperfections that force me to embrace them as what makes the photograph special and unique, perfect, if you will. As someone who strives for perfection, I often feel like there is no room for me to make mistakes in my life because it feels like there is no room to mess up. Of course, this brings me great anxiety that sits latent just beneath the surface. I chose this historic process intentionally to force me to not only be at peace with the mistakes of each image but to actually embrace them. To value the imperfections as what makes the artwork amazing. It’s not always easy!

Enjoy my mistakes! I hope they are a reminder to embrace your own.