Lover. Queen. Warrior. Sorceress. Rebel. Shape-shifter.
Celtic myth gives us female characters in inspirational roles, and they inspired this series of photographs. In our new millennium, it seems delightfully appropriate to spotlight these female role models from the previous millennium. The women have a dramatic stature, a theatrical, larger-than-life presence. As subjects, they seem both mysterious and forbidding, yet sensuous and approachable. In some pieces, placing multiple images in sequence allowed me to capture the motifs and scope of a story.
Many of the photographs were shot with infra-red film, which suited the ethereal, other-worldly quality of myth. Originally printed as gelatin silver prints, the process of digitizing these images allowed me to visualize my subjects large-scale. I also had options of paper, surface and texture, and control of how images could be sized and placed in a grouping that traditional photographic printing wouldn’t allow.
The gelatin silver prints are gem-like; the digital prints have a velvety, tactile quality, and their large scale (23”x34” – 34”x46”) conveys the drama of Celtic myth and the stature of its heroines.
