I was trained in a traditional photographic practice, but as I’ve gotten closer to understanding myself as an artist and what I am trying to express, I’ve found that I have wanted to incorporate sculptural elements in my work to include physical layers such as glass or photographic gels. This changes the experience of viewing a photographic image to get closer at what I’m interested in, which is a feeling that taps into the viewer's unconscious, or that unknown feeling that lies beneath the surface of our understanding.
For years my project’s concepts spoke through the metaphor of landscape photographs of places where energy can’t be seen, such as vortexes and sacred spiritual locations. As I’ve continued to work through my practice, and especially after having two children and transforming into a mother, I’ve been working through my own life’s traumas and have realized that the root of my interest is still in the invisible. Specifically, I am interested in the invisibility of the subconscious and in ideas around psychology—particularly Carl Jung's philosophies. This opening in my practice has led me to my current work around the Jungian idea of “the Shadow.”
In this body of work, I layer images offset from each other on Plexiglass over inkjet prints to represent the idea of a shadow self, an idea that Jung theorized about relating to the uncoscious parts of ourselves that are hard to see. In my work the layering of Plexiglas over inkjet prints creates a slight physical and visual distance between images, representing the shadow or hidden part of oneself. Not only does the distance create an actual shadow, it is a literal repetition of the original image, suggesting the layering and complicated makeup of ourselves.
Documentation Photography by Jeff McLane