Gail Skudera (US)
Text written by GHA
American experimental photographer Gail Skudera creates intriguing collages of transparent images printed onto textiles.
Using printmaking techniques, Skudera plays with composition to combine opposing black-and-white photographs on canvas. Heads are disconnected from bodies, figures are separated and spliced back together, creating an eerie and intriguing effect for the viewer. Differing scenes are superimposed on top of one another, creating a wholly new multiple image. Her subjects fracture and disassemble, lending to an almost Cubistic ambiance.
Skudera’s monochromatic prints are reminiscent of vintage photographs. This speaks to the nature of time passing and shifting as she brings a new perspective to classic photographical ideas. Skudera adds her own intriguing artistic touches to the analogue lens, as figures are confused and objects fade and blend together, further contributing to this eerie and ghostlike atmosphere.
Skudera also works with a unique approach to colour in her images. Although the photographs themselves are black and white, she is able to dye overtop of the traditional images in interesting waves of pink and green and bursts of blue. This creates intriguing patterns of hypnotic colour which almost resemble an oil spill in their sheen and glimmer. Her use of colour also evokes thoughts of the warped glare of a camera lens, or the unique effect that occurs when taking a photo of an image on a screen.
Skudera’s unique photographic vision allows the viewer to consider their own past, pondering the ways it can be reassembled and perhaps even reimagined.
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