ELIZABETH OPALENIK

摘要

Bodies, stark and sensual, float in a liquid suspension of time and space. Flowers, fragile and severe, resonate with erotic equivalence. Water, mysterious and dark, conflates temporal cleansing and spiritual rebirth. A photographer, innovative and uninhibited, combines these narrative elements in a dazzling mosaic of mirrorings and intersections. Welcome to the visually expressive and emotionally charged reveries of Elizabeth Opalenik. "I'm not interested in photography as reality, but as a journey of self-reflection to find the beauty within," she says. "Photographs are self-portraits to express our hopes, dreams, visions, childhood memories, life. They are stepping stones and tools to open doors to exploration." The Oakland, California-based artist began her highly individual odyssey during a 1 979 Maine Photographic Workshop. She intuitively grasped the medium's metaphoric potential and began exploring it with such non-traditional tools as infrared and hand painting. Her use of alternative processes is driven by a need for hands-on engagement with photographic materials as well as a strong preference for one-of-a-kind interpretations. "Mass-produced imagery has never appealed to me. I have a passion for creating something different each time out. I don't even make a black-and-white print the same."