For the third iteration of our artist-in-residence program we had the pleasure of working with Sophia Cook, an interdisciplinary artist whose dynamic relationship with images made her a compelling applicant.
1. How did the experience of working at Lightsource– the equipment, the space, and the assistance of the imaging experts impact your final works?
The access to the capture suite completely changed the way I incorporate objects into my prints. I had been using the flatbed of a photocopier before my residency, but the visual acuity of the capture suite was unparalleled.
2. What is your main medium? What were the main materials you were using before your residency?
I mainly work in sculpture using a combination of found and crafted objects. I had been using a photocopier to distort the scale of incorporate a sense of movement into these objects. I was interested in exploring their physical, dimensional, and spatial potential beyond the static nature of their function or aesthetic.
3. Do you consider yourself a photographer?
I do not. I have always had a tepid relationship with photography because it seemed to lack the generative aspect of more tangible materials where one gesture can inform the next.
4. How did your preexisting projects contribute to your desire to make the book? How did the resources provided to you through the AIR impact your final project?
I was really curious about what the logistics behind making of such a large object would be. I wanted to know how it would feel to turn the pages of this body-sized thing and read words off of it. In the end I think the prints from the capture station were stronger and have given me a direction for my next projects.
5. How has your practice shifted since your residency? What are you working on now?
I used a tattoo gun on the Plexiglas for the text in the book. I want to explore this practice more, but if I was to do it again I would have chosen a different methodology. But my introduction to new photographic technology has shifted the way I will approach displaying the objects I make.
Sophia will be exhibiting new work in a two-person show with Conventional Projects in March and will participate in San Francisco Art Institute Vernissage In May. You stay up to day with Sophia’s work here and @swamp.rattt
