If I Was A Time Traveller (2021) © Amy Friend

Your work Dare alla Luce brings a wonderful luminous set of images. Could you tell us about this series? What's your inspiration and creative process?

I have been working on this series, on and off, for years. The seedlings of the work began with an interest in the physicality of the photograph and with the, not so ground-breaking thought, that something ephemeral… life itself becomes fixed, but then what? Years ago, these thoughts were in the back of my mind while I spent time looking through old family photo albums with my Nonna (grandmother). Our conversations made me question what a photograph means as time passes. How does photographic meaning change when there is no longer anyone to tell its story? What meaning do they hold if we are not directly connected to them?

This is when I began collecting vernacular images.

I explored some of my thoughts by initially embroidering onto the photo as a means of trying to make them precious in some way but I was not content with the results. Something was missing. As I continued my explorations, the perforations I made through the embroidery shaped my eventual process. By chance, light passed through the small holes in the photo as I worked on them. It was the light I was after. It became the element that I utilized in my process – an element that has been a part of photography’s production and history. The title, Dare alla Luce translates to “bring to the light” an Italian term used to reference birth. This title was a bit of an homage to my Nonna (Severina), who I mentioned earlier, given her Italian heritage, but it also referenced the act of bringing these vernacular photos to the light, to be seen once again. The series is a contemplation on photography, it beckons us to consider identity, time, the original photographers of these vernacular images, the act of taking an image, loss, the intimate moments of our lives and our own mortality. What remains? Who had the ability to photograph and be photographed? What images were never taken? What do we leave out of our personal photo history?

I think about many of these things as we curate and present ourselves in this digital world - erasing and reuploading ourselves.

How do you choose the vintage photographs for further creation?

It is an odd act to purchase a vernacular photograph, and this is a difficult question to answer. When I search for images, I sift through vintage markets or scroll online to locate photographs that are largely removed from their original context. The images I chose when the series began felt embedded in the everyday. They could be moments from many lives. Some of the images reminded me of my own memories or of stories I heard through family and friends. Bits and pieces of us are present in the imagery of others. As I collected these photos I became interested in their provenance. Some images included notations while others have nothing noted. I think about the people in the photos. What is their story? These images are fragments --- representations of everything and nothing. Photos solidify existence, but then what? When I collect, I also I think about the act of taking the photograph. Why were these moments captured? Over time I have found images that are stunningly crafted, images that are beckoning to be seen. Someone wanted to record a moment through an image. That in itself is interesting to me.

What does photographic medium mean to you?

I imagine my response to this question would shift often. Photography keeps me interested.

Why do we want to capture images at all? I understand the enormity of how that question could be addressed, given the multitude of reasons for photographs to be produced. However, if we look at our everyday photographs - the personal ones that today inhabit most people’s cell phones, what is their purpose? The meaning of photography is malleable and that is where I find meaning. While the image is fixed, so much of a photograph is not. This is fascinating.

What projects are you currently working on? Can you tell us a bit about your next step?

I am currently working on a series titled, Tiny Tears Fill an Ocean.

Like many, I have been homebound due to COVID and with this stationary position, I dove into my own photographs. Through my process I culled images depicting various coastlines I had taken over that last 20 years. I am treading between time with these images, and I cannot help but think about COVID and how it has marked this period, this time. The need to respond is overwhelming. Prior to COVID I collected bottles of sea water in my travels. I knew I would use this water somehow, but it was in this new work that it took form. I am now printing these waterscapes and soaking them in the sea water. They remain there until the water evaporates leaving a residue of salt on the surface.

My response has formed through my act of looking back but also outward through the vistas I have seen and experienced. I question much in relation to COVID and see the questions as not only COVID related but focus on "overarching" questions about life. What are we doing to our world? What are we? What is aging? How do we measure loss? How do we understand the value of life? I imagine these vistas now, as a place to mourn, to consider collective loss, but also to consider possibility. I imagine these bodies of water as us, we are made of partially of water and salt, as are our tears. And, tears fall for reasons of sorrow and joy.

Describe your creative process in one word.

Fermenting.

If you could teach a one-hour class on anything, what would it be?

Chance. I would teach a class about that! I love the interactions that happens when teaching. I learn so much along the way and think we try to control so much of everything. Chance is incredibly important to consider.

What was the last book you read or film you saw that inspired you?

I read a book many years ago that I recently reread. It is the titled, The Spell of the Sensuous by David Abram. It is a wonderful book and has remained in my mind for years.

What is the most played song in your music library?

I cannot choose just one…

Lhasa de Sela – Fool’s Gold

Fabrizio Cammarata stunningly singing one of my favourite songs - La Llorona

Ed Sheeran – Afterglow

Lucinda Williams – Essence

Ray LaMontangne – All the Wild Horses

Marc Anthony – Aguanile! ☺

How do you take your coffee?

Before sunrise…extra cream, no sugar.