Liz Deschenes, FPF #1, 2018

2018

Medium

Silver gelatin photograms, two parts

Dimensions

21 × 132.5 cm

Status

In Gallery Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-155773

The title "FPF #1", of the two-part photogram from the series with the same name, refers to the abbreviation for "Frame Per Foot" and thus to the process of creating the work. Each photogram of the series was exposed for as long as a human foot touched the ground for a single step, the duration varying according to the gait and speed of the walker. Deschenes refers to the measure for image rates "frames per second", which describes the number of individual images of a camera that are taken per time frame. The artist uses analog photographic techniques to examine and visualize time as a physical unit. "FPF #1" is a record of the material conditions of its creation. The structure of the surface changes depending on the brightness during the exposure of the photosensitive paper and the intensity of the chemical development. The immediate reality of the photographic process takes the place of a mediating reality - in the form of a motif. The horizontally staggered works have a monochrome mirror-like effect, which, upon closer inspection, reveal a highly individual, sensitive surface: "It changes, it oxidizes, it catches handprints if handled. It is a sensitive, vulnerable material." Photography is no longer just a momentary snapshot, it is constantly absorbing the influences of its surroundings. "FPF #1" should not be seen as a classic picture, but as an experience that is bound to space and time. In Liz Deschene's work, the profound examination of the history of photography is omnipresent. The works from the "FPF" series relate to Étienne-Jules Marey, a pioneer in the development of the moving image. In the 1880s, Marey built the first chronophotograph, which initially made it possible to capture up to ten phases of movement on a single light-sensitive surface. The analysis of physiological phenomena such as the human gait were in focus. Following the recording by the photographic apparatus, Marey translated the results into curves, diagrams and graphs that look like abstract graphics. Deschene's series "FPF" is a transformation of these scientific-looking recordings and are a further investigation of time in space using photographic methods. Both Marey and Deschenes are united by their interest in a reduced representation of movement and time. The hanging of Deschene's mainly two-part works is reminiscent of step sequences on the one hand and is a direct reference to Marey's studies on the other. Marey used photography as a technique of capturing human movements in phases, thus laying the foundation for cinematography, which also finds an intensive involvement in Deschene's work.