Marlene MacCallum
Ontario, Canada
https://www.marlenemaccallum.com
IG: @marlenemaccallum
where steps stop
2024
Four volume book work in slipcase, drum leaf binding, archival digital pigment prints on Aya paper, letterpress, polymer photogravure
19/16 x 7 x 10 7/16 inches, each volume closed: 1/4 x 6 11/16 x 10 1/8 inches, each image spread: 13 7/16 x 10 1/16 inches
Artist Statement
In June 2020, I began to regularly photograph at the lake’s edge, marking the conclusion of my walk with a visual record, always from the same south-facing vantage point. From this gathering of images, where steps stop was formed.
where steps stop is a four-part work about the flux of water, sky, ground, and their visual convergence. This piece is also about the nature of printing; how the record of an ephemeral situation is transformed to become a fixed printed object. In addition to the construction of images via the physical strata of print processes is the overlay of the written word. Each volume uses drum leaf binding to provide an uninterrupted image/page spread surface. The spines and covers form a word flow that links the four volumes.
The first volume, when water colours, emphasizes visual experience. The sequence of page spreads reveals the radically distinct colour realities of the lake’s edge as summer shifts to fall. This volume consists of four archival digital pigment prints on Aya paper, typeface: Gibson.
The second volume, below fragrant skies, evokes scent memories conjured by wind, air pressure and weather environments. The overlay of words both identifies cloud formations and suggests the invisible, subtle smells in the space. The text is letterpress printed in subtle ink. Words are pressed into the paper surface and hover amidst images of sky and cloud. Five archival digital pigment prints are overprinted with letterpress on Aya paper, typeface: News Gothic.
In surfaces murmur, sonic memories are integrated into the visual record. Layers of printing echo the filter of perception. The represented space is seen through a subtle veil of thought. The digital print contains only the CMY components of a CMYK image. This is subsequently over-printed with a polymer photogravure printing of the K (black) layer. This results in a work where the coloured pigment inks sink into the paper surface and the black intaglio ink rests on top. The distinct layers of printing generate photographic and graphic realities that echo both the human presence and the natural world. Five archival digital pigment prints are layered with polymer photogravure on Aya paper, typeface: Faricy New.
The fourth, and final volume, steps stop, was inspired by driving to the lake with the car radio on while the frequencies flickered between the music of Arvo Pärt and other stations. This led to an exploration of the compositional structure of Pärt’s music. His use of a repeated and evolving triad structure with a parallel melodic line is echoed by the triad of sky-water-land and the floating words that slowly build, then stop. This volume consists of six archival digital pigment prints on Aya paper, typeface: Optima.