These images were made on Psychedelic Blues film #5, ISO 400 on a disposable camera, in early 2020. Psych Blues is a color negative film created by Dustin Adams. This is experimental film with colors pre-treated with a DIY chemical process. Since I am new to film, I experimented with light and composition, and loved the waiting for the revealing of the unknown.
I am very grateful for the kind folks at Camera Mall as they developed these images with exceptional customer service during a very tumultuous time in March, 2020, when coronavirus first spiked in our area. I picked up my photos a few days before a major stay-at-home order went into effect, just a few days before the world as we knew it seemed to change overnight.
I brought my photos home after an eery walk downtown. Life - public life - didn't feel familiar anymore. I knew it was about to be a very difficult time for everyone and would require a lot of processing. With that in mind, I practiced patience in waiting to look at my photos. When every aspect of our lived experience felt extremely chaotic and unprecedented, I found calm in the patience and anticipation of creative experimentation.
I remember myself finding solace in arranging and rearranging these images on our kitchen table, holding them in my hand, truly taking time to contemplate the beauty in the creative process as the colors and patterns revealed themselves to me.
