THE GHOST IN THE ROOM

some images made during my residency time in noyers-sur-serein, france last summer, the medieval village where duran duran's new moon on monday was filmed.

i was charmed by this village, and one barn in particular that was still filled with hay from centuries ago. the only available light streamed in from a window in the ceiling, illuminating the stone wall and highlighting the incredible character of the handmade structure. having worked on a handmade house myself, i had such respect for all of the people who worked to create this beautiful space, and all of the people who had used it over the years. so much productivity, so much action. i paid homage to the ghosts in the barn by working with two new friends i met in the village to create mysteriously active human forms. the work was shot in one barn and shown in another via projection, so the stone wall-backed imagery glowed on top of the dark stone wall in the exhibition space.

POSSIBILIANS

one of the ways i've chosen to engage with the possible is via a portrait project of folks involved. since the exhibition is very much about process, i'm using the camera i enjoy using the most – my rollei – and showing contact sheets. i've steadily added to my collection over the course of the show.

there are two weeks left to check out the book, which lives on-site at the berkeley art museum, in the remarkable possible library.

i'd like to take this moment to thank light waves for their ongoing support of this project.

THE SWAP

William Eggleston by Maude Clay

i think about portraits a lot. it’s a special thing when one catches my eye, and i’ve always been drawn to this one of william eggleston, camera in hand, by maude clay. it’s no secret that people tend to shine when doing their thing, but i know that taking a portrait of a photographer isn’t the easiest feat regardless. my obsession with this image prompted me to daydream about what a glorious challenge such a project would be: portraits of photographers. turns out that stuart plinkington, a curator in london, beat me to the punch with his next-level version that involves photographers from all over the world. he calls it “the swap.”

when stuart contacted me about participating in the swap, maude’s portrait of william immediately came to mind. i suggested that maude and i be a pairing. i figured it was a long shot, but as luck would have it, stuart had just been corresponding with maude that very same day, and she had agreed to participate.

when i researched maude, i was amazed to see that she lives in a small town in mississippi, just minutes from the spot where my mother lived for the last 15 years. my mother recently relocated to california, so knowing that i wouldn’t be visiting mississippi anytime soon, i wrote to maude with some words of praise and a brief tale of our almost-connection.

this is where it gets really good. maude responded that she was planning to visit the bay area the following week, and we made a date to meet in the redwoods. cheers to a serendipitous encounter, maude’s portrait of william, stuart’s project, and a little perseverance. here’s my maude and here’s her me.

Maude Clay by Terri Loewenthal