Shots Fired: photos from my MFA thesis exhibition

MFA in Visual Arts Thesis Exhibition
June 19 – 25, 2016
Reception Saturday, June 25
6:00 – 8:00 pm

Lesley University
Lunder Arts Center
1801 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA

SHOTS FIRED: Using a camera-less process, I shoot photosensitive material. It is the literal documentation of the effects of a gunshot on silver gelatin photographic paper, 4x5 sheet film, and paper treated with cyanotype emulsion. The objects are exposed to the ambient light and later developed. When a photograph violently interacts with the exterior world, the medium’s relationship to its referent is affected. My inquiry and experimentation produces objects that capture evidential traces of trauma. The abstract becomes physical, and the viewers become judges, victims, perpetrators, investigators, and witnesses.

Portraits from the Boston Marathon: 2013

I heard the bombs explode from  two blocks away as I was taking portraits of runners after they finished the marathon.  The tone of my images quickly changed as I documented the reactions of the athletes and the spectators.

Chilean Student Protests

I had the opportunity to cover many protests and marches of the student movement in Chile.  The cry for education reform has continued in a sustained way for over two years.  It was fascinating to follow the leaders and watch the youth's courageous political action.  I learned a lot about how to go about photographing protests (and to bring a lemon to suck on, which helps cut the tear gas).

Valparaíso and La Vega Market

Valparaíso is about a 1 and a half hour bus ride away from Santiago.

Valparaíso Chile, Harbor

Most of the pictures on this posting were taken on a tour of Valparaíso led by a friend with his company Tours 4 Tips. Here is the harbor. Apparently, people from Valparaíso refer to themselves as porteños (which means "port people" more or less). Check out the name of that little boat..... "I love Nikol". Sweet.

Headquarters of the Chilean Navy in Plaza Sotomayor in Valparaíso.

Cable car, Valparaiso

Tours 4 tips guide. Behind him are some of the many elevators or funiculars in Valparaiso.

View from one of the 45 hills in Valparaíso. If you're too tired to walk up the hills, some hills have ascensores or old-school elevators that will take you slowly up-hill. The city reminded us of San Francisco, New Orleans, Havana, and Gloucester all rolled into one fun and crazy place.

Night view of the city.

Central Market - "La Vega" Santiago, Chile

Fish market.

Peruvian sauces. The Peruvian woman who owns this stand at the market will put together a sauce for you if you just tell her what you plan on cooking it with. Chileans generally enjoy and eat a lot of Peruvian food. According to most of the Chileans we've talked to, Peruvian food and culture has added a lot of spice and flavor to Chilean culture.

Watermelons anyone?

It's normally more crowded than this we hear.

This is a fruit called a pepino which is the same word used for cucumber in a lot of places. You can eat the skin and everything. It's similar to a honeydew melon in taste and texture but definitely not in size.

If you're looking at the prices, 500 is about 1 U.S. dollar and the prices are for kilograms, not pounds.

This woman is making sopaipillas which are made from mashed up pumpkin and flour, then deep fried. They're usually eaten with a spicy paste made out of crushed chiles. Very tasty.

Musician playing for tips.

At a bar called La Piojera which is very well known in Santiago, they make a drink called the Terremoto (which means earthquake). They also have drinks called Aftershocks and Tsunamis but we stuck to the Terremoto. It's made out of pineapple ice-cream (which you can see is already in the glasses), white wine, and a little bit of Fernet.