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A life aquatic
By Qi Xijia Source:Global Times Published: 2015-7-14 17:08:01
Photographer’s unique approach using water creates sublime dance with the unknown
Christy Lee Rogers is a visual artist from Kailua, Hawaii who creates haunting, dreamlike imagery with her distinctive underwater photography, which can be seen at her ongoing solo show The Eternal Aquatic at ART LABOR Gallery.
The works feature eerie scenes of models submerged in darkened waters, with ripples and refracted light adding to the somnambulistic aura. Boisterous color and complexity, along with sharp contrasts between light and dark, have led to the pieces being compared to baroque painting masters like Caravaggio.
Rogers developed a deep respect for water growing up in Hawaii, where her father was a surfer. Her fascination with the medium led to her first artistic experimentation with it more than 15 years ago.
"Metaphorically, water resembled purity; and a body immersed in it, free from gravity but trapped by many inabilities, was a huge dichotomy that was fascinating to me," Rogers told the Global Times.
The process of creating these sublime underwater images is full of challenges. First, there is dealing with how light is refracted by the water, making the process as much a science as an art requiring huge amounts of patience.
Then there are the practical considerations. The models are completely immersed in water in a pool. Rogers will practice with her models many times until they are comfortable and can perform while also holding their breath without becoming disorientated.
"It's not easy for my models to be down there underwater, but that's also what I want to capture in the images, the struggle and vulnerability, and the overcoming of these obstacles," said Rogers. "It feels as if you are in this foreign place, unable to think or move like you usually do. It's a whole new world down there."
Challenging art
Each shoot presents new challenges, but that's what interests Rogers. A typical shoot will see her warm up by shooting for a few hours while she teaches her models her style. She can then focus on getting the final shot.
"Every moment encountered during this exploration is an opportunity to capture that one magical image that I'm looking for," she said. "It needs to be real between the subject and the environment and not posed. So the shoot becomes a beautiful sort of dance with the unknown."
Rogers' works resemble early baroque painting in their dramatic light and poses, with an emphasis on movement, drama, individual figures, light and shadow, and the sense of something greater than oneself.
British newspaper The Independent described her work as "a mix of masters - the vivid hues of Titian, the straining bodies of Rubens, the sun-dappling chiaroscuro of Caravaggio, but also the loose brushstrokes and fluid movement of Delacroix."
Yet Rogers told the Global Times that it was never her intention to create works that were like paintings, but something that emerged as a result of her experimentation with water.
"There are ideas, feelings and things I imagine, and this is what takes me on my path," explained Rogers.
Most of her ideas are based on her search for knowledge about the world, mankind and a greater understanding of what it is that drives people. She keeps notebooks of ideas, inspiration, color schemes, words, feelings and drawings.
"In every breath there's both life and death. It's as though the two needed each other. How could one feel extreme passion without first feeling the emptiness? I think this is native to us all; this is what makes life interesting to live. And I want to express that through the struggle and pain, there is also beauty and love there to be experienced," said Rogers.
"I want to explore freedoms, both gained and lost, through emotions and I want you to feel something that changes your life."
Next month, Rogers will go to Mexico City to launch her newest collection, Celestial Bodies, inspired by planets, stars and the cosmos. She is also planning an album of music and some sculpture pieces.
The works feature eerie scenes of models submerged in darkened waters, with ripples and refracted light adding to the somnambulistic aura. Boisterous color and complexity, along with sharp contrasts between light and dark, have led to the pieces being compared to baroque painting masters like Caravaggio.
Water world
Rogers developed a deep respect for water growing up in Hawaii, where her father was a surfer. Her fascination with the medium led to her first artistic experimentation with it more than 15 years ago.
"Metaphorically, water resembled purity; and a body immersed in it, free from gravity but trapped by many inabilities, was a huge dichotomy that was fascinating to me," Rogers told the Global Times.
The process of creating these sublime underwater images is full of challenges. First, there is dealing with how light is refracted by the water, making the process as much a science as an art requiring huge amounts of patience.
Then there are the practical considerations. The models are completely immersed in water in a pool. Rogers will practice with her models many times until they are comfortable and can perform while also holding their breath without becoming disorientated.
"It's not easy for my models to be down there underwater, but that's also what I want to capture in the images, the struggle and vulnerability, and the overcoming of these obstacles," said Rogers. "It feels as if you are in this foreign place, unable to think or move like you usually do. It's a whole new world down there."
Each shoot presents new challenges, but that's what interests Rogers. A typical shoot will see her warm up by shooting for a few hours while she teaches her models her style. She can then focus on getting the final shot.
"Every moment encountered during this exploration is an opportunity to capture that one magical image that I'm looking for," she said. "It needs to be real between the subject and the environment and not posed. So the shoot becomes a beautiful sort of dance with the unknown."
(From top) Images from the new exhibition by photographer Christy Lee Rogers Photos: Courtesy of the artist
Baroque tonesRogers' works resemble early baroque painting in their dramatic light and poses, with an emphasis on movement, drama, individual figures, light and shadow, and the sense of something greater than oneself.
British newspaper The Independent described her work as "a mix of masters - the vivid hues of Titian, the straining bodies of Rubens, the sun-dappling chiaroscuro of Caravaggio, but also the loose brushstrokes and fluid movement of Delacroix."
Yet Rogers told the Global Times that it was never her intention to create works that were like paintings, but something that emerged as a result of her experimentation with water.
"There are ideas, feelings and things I imagine, and this is what takes me on my path," explained Rogers.
Most of her ideas are based on her search for knowledge about the world, mankind and a greater understanding of what it is that drives people. She keeps notebooks of ideas, inspiration, color schemes, words, feelings and drawings.
"In every breath there's both life and death. It's as though the two needed each other. How could one feel extreme passion without first feeling the emptiness? I think this is native to us all; this is what makes life interesting to live. And I want to express that through the struggle and pain, there is also beauty and love there to be experienced," said Rogers.
"I want to explore freedoms, both gained and lost, through emotions and I want you to feel something that changes your life."
Next month, Rogers will go to Mexico City to launch her newest collection, Celestial Bodies, inspired by planets, stars and the cosmos. She is also planning an album of music and some sculpture pieces.
Date: Until August 18, 10 am to 7 pm (closed Mondays)
Venue: ART LABOR Gallery
Address: 1/F, Bldg 4, 570 Yongjia Road 永嘉路570号4号楼1楼
Admission: Free
Call 3460-5331 or visit http://www.artlaborgallery.com/, http://www.christyrogers.com/ for details
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