Rachel
Reisert

Pulse

Pulse is a collection of images created through the camera-less process of lumen printing. To make each image, I place plant matter on light-sensitive paper and use sunlight for the exposure. The resulting impressions are shaped by opacity, time, heat, and the biological makeup of the materials. The process connects my practice to photography's earliest experiments, when paper, botanicals, and sunlight were the first image-making tools. The sun is both a literal and symbolic force. It is the essential source of life, sustaining growth in all living things. The project also incorporates vintage and early anatomical drawings. I work with historical illustrations by selecting, cutting, repositioning, and retracing the lines made before the camera could document the human form. I honor the vision and skill of past artists and scientists, allowing their insight to resonate within my own practice.

Pulse references the life sustaining rhythm of the heart, and examines our relationship with the earth and our temporal bodies. Humanity often forgets that we are nature. Our destruction of the environment is ultimately the destruction of ourselves. These images carry an undercurrent of ecological anxiety, a sense of urgency and longing in this plea for change. Our fragile, imperfect bodies might still serve as vessels for hope.