Unlike painting, photography is based on additive color theory, in which the primary colors are red, green, and blue, and yellow is simply the result of red and green light. The images are constructed from layers of paper exposed multiple times to generate different colors and shapes. These photographs were taken with one of the few Polaroid 20 x 24″ cameras that exist in the world. Although the result is a two-dimensional photographic image, the edge of the piece makes evident the developing process. In this way, the work produces a tension between the intangible and the concrete to reveal the raw material that constitutes the photographic process, creating the illusion of an architectural space.
Fabiola Menchelli Yellow and purple polaroid, 2013 20 x 24″ Polaroid printFabiola Menchelli Pink and red polaroid, 2013 20 x 24″ Polaroid printFabiola Menchelli Green and blue polaroid, 2013 20 x 24″ Polaroid printMassArt Studio with 20 x 24″ Polaroid Camera, 2013 Fabiola Menchelli, Mathew Corning & Robin Meyers Photograph by Matthew Monteith
Constructions
Constructions
2012 – 2013
Constructions
2012 – 2013
In a digital age where the boundaries between the virtual and the physical blend and generate new experiences, I am interested in using the language of abstraction to make images that seem to present a tangible visible reality but which are never quite there, except in the eye of the camera and the mind of the maker. In the studio, I construct installations using simple materials and project light onto them. I seek to transform the physical with light and shadow. The process of integrating these elements into a picture allows me to play with the materiality of thought. I aim to challenge our beliefs about perception and make thought visible by drawing attention to the light as it embraces the surface of paper and animates space. The interaction between light and shadow transforms these ephemeral installations into complex visual spaces that evoke a world that is both physically tangible and as elusive as light, both virtual and real.
Fabiola Menchelli Balancing Light, 2012 Archival Pigment Print 30” x 22.5” / 76 x 57 cmFabiola Menchelli Archway, 2012 Archival Pigment Print 30” x 22.5” / 76 x 57 cmFabiola Menchelli Blueprint, 2012 Archival Pigment Print 40 x 30” / 102 x 76 cmFabiola Menchelli Curved, 2012 Archival Pigment Print 40 x 30” / 102 x 76 cmFabiola Menchelli Grabbed, 2012 Archival Pigment Print 30” x 22.5” / 76 x 57 cmFabiola Menchelli Three 90º Angles 2013 Archival Pigment Print 30” x 22.5” / 76 x 57 cmFabiola Menchelli Triangular Hall, 2012 Archival Pigment Print 30” x 22.5” / 76 x 57 cmFabiola Menchelli A guitar for Paola, 2012 Archival Pigment Print 40 x 30” / 102 x 76 cm