Ithaka 22 – Metamorphosis

Tomorrow evening, together with 11 other young makers I will show some of my work at the visual art festival “Ithaka 22 – Metamorphosis”.

Feel free to join us for some art, drinks and music!

http://ithaka22.wordpress.com/

Ithaka

 

Installation shots :

 

installatie 1

installatie2

Installatie 3

 

the lightbox

During the residency at “CENTER” the main goal was to  think about new outreach methods. Therefore, I decided to dedicate my time researching on ways to display and illuminate my new work. (see previous post). In order to achieve this, I needed a medium that would offer a sense of contemplation, but one that also would fit the image. After experimenting with different materials I decided to build a lightbox. Here, the work is essentially stripped down to minimal patterns of light and the object itself is emanating light.  The backlit image puts the emphasis on the luminosity of the patterns and resembles the original piece best.

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I decided to make the lightbox on a considerably large scale (24 x 30”), to give the piece a sculptural quality. This way, it really becomes an object to stand still for, experience and consider. It’s not meant to be hung on a wall like a traditional artwork/photograph, but placed on it’s own, preferably outside to echo the experience of the lightning bugs and bioluminescence,  which was the inspiration for the work.

IMG_4982

new work in progress

During my residency at CENTER Artistlabs I will further develop the series below.

“Lampyridae – Living Light”, refers to winged beetles that are commonly called fireflies. This series consists of photographs made without the use of a camera or any other recording device other than just pieces of sheet film. The images show the light traces that these specimens made directly on the photographic emulsion. This results in luminous patterns drawn by nature and captured by a manmade technique. Not only is it an unconventional record of catching the ephemeral, but it is also the result of a performance act between myself – the artist, the material and this insect. I go back in nature, catch the light bugs and experiment in an outdoor darkroom.

Romy_Eijckmans_Traces of Firelflies#1

firefly6

 

 

tintypes

After the long silence I finally found the time to post a few pieces on which I’ve been working on during my trip. I’ve been travelling with this work for more than 2 months so I’m super psyched to finally show a few previews. These are just some quick prescans, the high res files and the rest of the series will follow soon on the website!

 

 

5 leaf

 

 

2 Wings

 

 

 

4 skull

 

 

 

3 Forest

 

 

This body of work consist of tintypes; a direct positive photographic process, which was mainly used during the 19th century. One part of the series are images that were produced with an old “Brownie” camera, the other part exists of camera-less images. The photographs were all taken in a forest in a small town upstate New York; the photograms are mainly fauna & flora, which I gathered in that same area.

Henry Miller’s 11 commandments of writing and daily creative routine

Henry Miller 11

In 1932-1933, while working on what would become his first published novel, Tropic of cancer, Miller devised and adhered to a stringent daily routine to propel his writing. Among it was this list of eleven commandments, found in Henry Miller, on Writing . I always keep this commandments in my mind while working on a new series or project. It doesn’t always work out though…