Lumen Circles 2017-present
2017-present: Lumen Circles is an ongoing series of collaborative sun prints from “Lumen Notebook” made as a response to turbulent times. Reflecting on what we have in common rather than what divides us, I invite collaborators to mark our time together on the planet. We seat ourselves on photo-sensitive paper in silent meditation - a different paper for each circle. Participants can raise their hand to switch out with another person, if they wish, so these circles can accommodate many. For the duration of the sitting, the sunlight marks the paper leaving a lighter imprint where there is a human form.
These large-scale, cameraless images are "Lumen" prints, taken from lumen printing, the art of making images with black & white photo paper and sunlight. Everyone who participates is gifted a small print of the circle - a postcard- with the signatures of all participants on the back. When I began the project, I had in mind, my friend and teacher, Linda Connor’s eclipse photographs from the Litch Observatory.
Lumen Circle IV: Lake Manitou Community Center, Ivry Sur Le Lac, Quebec, Canada; August 5, 2021 (40 minutes, in shade, sunny day); o Ilford MG FB Classic Glossy.
Lumen Circle III: Datz Museum of Art: Gyeonggi-Go, South Korea; July 20, 2019 (25 minutes, cloudy before a storm); on Adorama FB Matt
Lumen Circle II: The Hermitage Artist Retreat, FLA; March 16, 2017 (35 minutes, bright sun); on Slavich Bromportrait 80 BP Glossy
Lumen Circle I: The San Francisco Art Institute, CA; Feb 4, 2017 (40 minutes, overcast and slight rain); on Ilford Warmtone FB