I presented ‘Dust, (photographic) grain, livers and me’, in the form of images and words, which act, as artist Francis Bacon termed, like 'a long call from antiquity'. I discussed works from a series collectively called ‘The Three Magic Particles: Light, Dust and Photographic Grain’, specifically focusing on ‘Dust Passing’, from 2009 and ‘Pompeiian Inversions’, completed in 2012, which explore the notion of dissolving, excavation and generation through matter, time, the body, and translation. These works utilise the conceptual and physical construct of the pinhole camera and/or camera obscura, to create images that are often transient, elusive, yet physical. And they also employ the destructive as well as transformative and generative power of dust, which serves as both medium and metaphor.
I also shared more recent works, which are speculative, and in progress, that draw on histories of the body, ancient practices of haruspicy, and artefacts that document, translate and pass on these knowledges. In the works in progress, ‘A Woman Holding a Liver’, and ‘Babylonian Biscuits’, the ever-present lens of the digital camera acts as a witness to actions, performances, ephemeral artefacts and the research and making processes. Here, the ubiquity of digital photography and the prevalence of the internet means I am able to easily and immediately access images of ancient artefacts held in museums all over the world, and engage with, draw upon and exploit the work of classics scholars who are translating and interpreting this ancient knowledge.
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