The prints had to be skewed digitally to account for the fact that the frame was not parallel to the film plane. Back in Seattle I made fifteen large prints altogether measuring 4.5 meters wide and over 3.5 meters high. In the case of Equivalence, to begin with I found a suitable piece of private land and got permission to use it. MF: Can you describe how you go about constructing your images? The process seems quite elaborate.ĬE: Every image presents unique challenges. We are a part of nature, when we harm it we harm ourselves. I don’t really imagine that there is such a strict division between man and nature. Being and working in extreme places connects me to nature by confirming the power it has over me. My work affords me a lot of opportunities to be in nature and for adventure and misadventure. Is this an idea that resonates with you?ĬE: I don’t personally feel more distant from nature than I want to be. MF: The Japanese photographer Naoya Hatakeyama has suggested that ‘nature is already so distant from us that you might say it has become a fantasy’. Undeveloped land, ocean views, deserts, the associations they have are ones that are appropriate to the work: freedom, possibility and a desire for purity.
Eve eye querious free#
When I refer to these spaces as an empty canvas I mean that they are relatively free from distracting associations, so that the work can just be the work. MF: You refer to these landscapes as resembling ‘an unformed dream or empty canvas waiting to be acted upon.’ What made you want to intervene in these landscapes?ĬE: They fulfilled the requirements for the illustration of my ideas. I have dreams about buying up all that land and doing nothing with it so that it will be left alone. They go from being spaces where I am free to let my imagination wander to being places with a personal history and familiarity. Once I’ve found and used a site I become attached to it, and there are some that I frequently revisit. The idea is not a response to the landscape in my work the landscape is a response to the idea. I then go out and drive, sometimes for a long time, until I find that site. I write about it, turn it over in my mind, and gradually the requirements for a site take shape. Marc Feustel : What attracted you to the landscapes of eastern Washington that you use for your photographs?Ĭhris Engman: When I set out to make a photograph I begin with an idea. This interview with Engman was done for the Talent Issue (#24) of Foam magazine which came out in September 2010. He has a show on at the Greg Kucera Gallery in Seattle until Christmas Eve 2010. The title of the series, just like the images themselves, suggests one thing, while revealing many others.
Eve eye querious series#
Chris Engman's series Landscapes is based on the vast open spaces of Washington State outside of Seattle, where Engman lives.
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