Zelda Zinn

Natural Selection

2010 - 2011
This body of work came from pondering the ever-changing New Mexico sky. Every time I looked up, it seemed there was a new formation of clouds, evidence of unseen forces. The subtle and ephemeral nature of these compositions intrigued me, and I began by trying to imitate them. The initial results looked like photographs of clouds—they were too “real.”

 Moving on, I kept playing with the same diaphanous material, not sure where it would lead.I found myself drawn to the shapes that sparked a reference to other objects, images that we recognize from our visual memories. My constructions are not so much pictures of things, but rather meant to evoke things. Often the elements suggested are drawn from nature: sky, water, earth, and the animal kingdom. I enjoyed the challenge creating allusions to other things through such limited means.

 Through use of the photogram, I have made "drawings" reminiscent of pencil sketches. Providing so little in depth, “information,” material, and tonal variation, they tug at the seams of what a photograph is. They succeed in holding our attention through their power of suggestion and their purely visual appeal.