Leah
Sobsey

Natural Magic Words Of Light

My practice considers photography as it relates to memory. My work explores memory and the notion of collections as they relate to personal and public identities. Different from Bechers "cataloging" and Anna Atkins "direct documentation," I work at the intersection of science, art and wonder, and the exploration of photographic historical processes intertwined with digital technology. I'm interested in the bridging of history, both technologically and metaphorically, as a way to connect to the present and explore process as a concept and metaphor.

This new body of work, Natural Magic, Words of Light, evolved out of a month- long stay at the Grand Canyon as the National Parks May 2010 Artist In Residence. I spent my time perusing and photographing specimens at the Grand Canyon Museum Collections from the earliest days of collecting at the park (1920's to present day). I convert the images into large-scale digital negatives, print as them as cyanotypes in the sun, and tone them in tea.