Amy Elkins
by Amy Elkins from the Bay Area, CA
Amy Elkins had plans to fly to Atlanta, GA to continue a portrait project she has been working on since 2016 in mid-March, but when all of her shoots were canceled due to the pandemic, she spontaneously turned to herself. She has produced a daily portrait since March 30th, all but one leading to mid-June when she moved, were taken inside of 340-square-foot apartment she lived in alone. These portraits were only made possible by moving her couch every day to make room against a white wall.
She describes the process: "I had purchased pre-treated cyanotype fabric and transparency film for a different project at the start of the year, but decided this was the time to use it, since access to my art studio and all printing facilities were not an option. I wake up, have a cup of coffee and immediately look around my apartment for things I can use to build an armor-like costume to make commentary on Covid-19. These were often common household items ranging from potholders, tinfoil, dish towels and toilet paper to art supplies I had on hand or evidence of the consumption taking place when stuck indoors indefinitely... Amazon packaging, takeout bags and trash left over from groceries purchased and consumed. I often tried to cover as much of my body and face as possible to make commentary on my fear of the virus and my efforts to guard against it.
Using a budget black-and-white document printer, I print digital negatives of my daily self-portraits. I clamped them to a cyanotype sheet and up until mid-June placed in the window of my third-floor apartment to expose in the window light. Now they are done in the garden. I then rinse them in water and the image emerges in various shades of blue. Due to relying on the sun each day, so much of how they turn out is out of my control, which very much reflects the times we are in.”
Elkins is now sheltering in place in Southern California but her process remains very similar. She has made these for over 100 days. It has become a daily ritual and an anchor for her in an otherwise unpredictable time.
SELF-PORTRAITS: PHOTOGRAPHERS IN CONFINEMENT
Curated by Svetlana Bachevanova
A collection of self-portraits made by photojournalists from five continents during the unprecedent lockdown due to the corona virus pandemic.
Photographers are people on the road, living to document the lives of others.
Constrained by the lockdown, many of them had their first experience of being still long enough to begin seeing and understanding small details about who they are, their lifestyles and values, that were overshadowed while they were busy. These self-portraits express their experience.
This is a unique collection of self-portraits from some of the best lenses in photojournalism at an historic moment.
Photographers in Confinement is a project in process and I welcome additional submissions from photojournalists at svetlana@fotoevidence.com
I am looking for potential exhibition partners in the USA and abroad.
Svetlana Bachevanova is a founder and publisher of FotoEvidence, long time photojournalist and curator.
