becoming neutral, No.1, no.3, No.2
2019
Full bleed Archival Inkjet Prints on Hahnemüle Photo Rag Bright White (ink extends to the edge of the paper)
Each print is 32” x 48”
Printed in editions of 3 +2AP
In Becoming Neutral I consecutively print cyan, magenta, and yellow ink atop one another in an effort to make my own middle grey. With the help of a commercial grey card, I test various color layering to determine which are closest to the original. Dubious of the reliability of my own perception, I have little confidence in my results. I then photograph the test strips and use my imperfect greys to calibrate their own images, ‘correcting’ and altering the tone of the paper accordingly. In doing so, I replace the mechanized and privatized standard of 18% grey with my own subjective standard for color calibration.
Becoming Neutral, No. 1 - 3 in Undisclosed Image, Nona Jean Hulsey Gallery, Oklahoma City, OK.
Installation photographs courtesy of Andy Mattern.
Universally Recognized Basic Values (18% Grey)
2020- ongoing
Selection of the Collection of 8x10” Grey cards
Site-specific Installations Include varying number of grey cards, dimensions variable.
Universally Recognized Basic Value (Color correction)
2020
Looping video
00:52
The grey card is a tool used in photography to calibrate exposure and white balance using Middle Grey, a tone that is halfway between black and white, calculated to be 18% light reflectance. It is described as a neutral standard in hue and, “accurate to within 1%,” according to fabricator Delta 1. In Universally Recognized Basic Values (18% Grey), I collect and display a grid of second-hand grey cards. Though supposedly archival and constant, my collection is anything but. I am left wondering which grey is truly middle grey. Within the collection, the individual grey cards become useless.
If you have old 8x10” grey cards that you’d like to contribute to this project, please get in contact for a mailing address.
Every image corrected by a grey card is corrected by an image of a grey card, not a grey card (100%, 2040%, & 12,800%)
2023
Archival Inkjet Prints
8 x 10” each
Edition of 1
Install Sketch: Every image corrected by a grey card is corrected by an image of a grey card, not a grey card (100% - 12,800%)
2023
8x10” Mounted Archival Inkjet Prints
dimensions variable
