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| Edward Bateman, Yosemite Eclipse, El Capitan No. 1, archival pigment print, 2021, 8 x 11 inches, edition 8, $800 |
photo-eye Gallery is thrilled to share new images from artist Edward Bateman.
As part of his prodigious series of staged photographs Yosemite: Seeking Sublime, a project produced during the ongoing pandemic and crafted on the artist’s kitchen table, Bateman continues to create enigmatic and alluring images using innovative techniques and unexpected materials – including geographical data, 3D printer, a fog machine, fiber-optic lighting, and powdered sugar.
The work is inspired by a need to understand the concept of the sublime through representations of the majestic landscapes of Yosemite National Park.
As part of his prodigious series of staged photographs Yosemite: Seeking Sublime, a project produced during the ongoing pandemic and crafted on the artist’s kitchen table, Bateman continues to create enigmatic and alluring images using innovative techniques and unexpected materials – including geographical data, 3D printer, a fog machine, fiber-optic lighting, and powdered sugar.
The work is inspired by a need to understand the concept of the sublime through representations of the majestic landscapes of Yosemite National Park.
We reached out to the artist for some additional insight into the making
of these new images. Below, Bateman was generous enough to share a
short statement detailing his thought process and inspirations
surrounding the project.
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| Edward Bateman, Half Dome with Wild Sky No. 1, archival pigment print, 2021, 8 x 11 inches, edition 8, $800 |
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| Edward Bateman, Yosemite with Snow, archival pigment print, 2021, 8 x 11 inches, edition 8, $800 |
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| Edward Bateman, Yosemite Eclipse - Half Dome No. 1, archival pigment print, 2021, 8 x 11 inches, edition 8, $800 |
"On New Year’s Eve this year, I was photographing the fireworks over Yosemite as the clock struck midnight. It seemed an appropriately odd thing to do to at the end of a very odd year. Of course, there were no fireworks over Yosemite – and El Capitan was on my kitchen table. But I did want to share an image from my imagination with friends to start the new year.
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| From Edward Bateman's Instagram account: Fireworks, New Year's 2020 |
I had already photographed winter in Yosemite… the mountains dusted with snowy powdered sugar. I think that we are all hoping that there are new possibilities in this year. So I imagined being able to photograph a rare total eclipse over Yosemite – a once in a life time experience. For the sun, I used a fiberoptic light source (often used for science and microscopy) placed in the frame; illuminating the still snowy mountains. A bit of fill-flash to freeze the rapidly moving clouds. The next day, I thought that I should have photographed Half Dome… the round lunar disc over the sun possibly echoing the roundness of the iconic peak. So it became a twice in a lifetime experience. I have never been to Yosemite — but I do have a sense of its orientation. I first tried the sun in a place that could conceivably be possible for the winter sun. But I have never tried to fool people that these were real images of the real thing… more of a tribute to these times when so much has been denied to us. In my microcosm, I was free to place the sun wherever I wanted it to be.
These images felt like dreams to me. Which makes sense — they are certainly more from my imagination than a real place on earth. And I found that to be calming. In a time that has been so chaotic, it is nice to know that there are still a few things under my control that can give me joy, hope, and wonder.
The clouds from my fog machine have a life of their own. They move and change so fast! Sometimes they create a total white-out. And at other times, surreal swirls that follow the subtle air currents that flow around my miniature mountains. These are even more like an image from a dream. They are chaotic in a way that only nature can be – but still having a sublime beauty that is always waiting for us in nature. Chaos and beauty intertwined; a good reminder for these times."
— Edward Bateman
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| Edward Bateman at work in his studio |
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