Ed Spence

Snowfall
2017
unique handcut archival pigment print with glue on Dibond
70 x 55 cm.

The art of Ed Spence attempts to create a visual language capable of describing abstract, physical and spiritual concepts. There are borrowed elements, such as the grid, that suggest mathematical concepts and the mapping of space. The plinth sets a stage for presentation and provides a physical frame that references the museum context, and in turn, it represents the passage of time. By extension, the presentation of objects within a museum context brings attention to the history of humanity in relation to real and hypothetical technological advances. Photography is used both for documentary recording and practical aesthetic purposes. In this way, Spence can capture the phenomenological effects of light and literally dissect the results. The process can be seen as a combination of photography and collage, in which the resulting digital planes are at once superimposed and embedded. The process of reorganization draws attention to the plasticity of virtual space.

These works are driven primarily by process. What initially appears to be a digital effect is actually a meticulously handcrafted deconstruction of an image. Using only a knife, ruler and scissors, portions of the images have been dissected into tiny squares and the information is presented in alternative configurations. No pieces have been lost or gained.

Snowfall
2017
unique handcut archival pigment print with glue on Dibond
70 x 55 cm.