ARTIST STATEMENT
I create cyanotypes as a marking of time and place. Exploring new locations ignites my spirit, to create and experience. The urgency to record time is informed by the piercing markers of loss and healing, a meditation in the present. My performative work is a collaboration with the elements, the light and temperature of a specific season, the time of day and the unique chemistry of water. The cyanotypes are made with non-toxic materials and interact with sunlight and bodies of water using the original 1842 recipe. Shifting forms of water and sunlight create a unique image.
“As I sit and watch reflections dance on the ever-changing surface, I collect the movement of water over paper. I watch the sunlight slowly change colors on paper, shifting shapes and my state of being. This work grows into a celebration of life and records all that is beautiful in the present.”
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Residing in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Erin was a recipient of the Eli Lilly Creativity Fellowship and recently spent the summer creating art in Brazil along the coast of Ubatuba and Rio, including Copacabana. She was invited to exhibit in the Indiana State Museum’s “Art IN the Abstract” and Fort Wayne Museum of Art’s “The National: Best Contemporary Photography.” Her cyanotype “Saint Mary’s River” is included in the museum’s collection of contemporary photography at FWMoA. Recent solo exhibitions include Marcia Evans Gallery in Columbus, Ohio, ARTLINK Contemporary Gallery in Fort Wayne, Indiana and the Honeywell Center for the Arts in Wabash, Indiana.
Erin’s cyanotypes are collected throughout the United States, Europe and she is represented by Chicago’s Goldfinch Gallery Flatfiles and Crestwoods Gallery. She creates site-specific commissions for individuals, documenting important bodies of water for her collectors. As an award-winning educator, Erin teaches Visual Arts with young learners and shares the cyanotype process through workshops at ARTLINK Gallery, ACRES Land Trust and the Aurora Photo Center in Indianapolis.
© Erin Patton McFarren