XPan
Dagobah Resident
Painting with Photo Chemicals
This "Embryo" series, was one of the most fascinating ones I have ever done. Why ? More to that later. In this series made with analog film (6x6) and then printed - I painted the body of Per-Olof with a chemical substance called"Selenium toner".
By using a paintbrush and the (undiluted) Selenium toner, those areas would quickly turn yellow-reddish.
Chlorbromid fiberpaper reacts best - and does so quickly, with warm tones. The rest of the image is only weakly toned with Selenium, giving it a warmer overall tone - as well deepens the dark areas as those reacts more, the more silver there is. (It also stabilizes the silver print). However - Selenium toner does not have the same yellow-reddish-brown effect when used on Bromide silver prints - as those react much less, and tend to go towards cool black-purple kind of tone - which just looks weird.
In this way, you can seperate an object from it's surrounding. Also note, that the images you here are digital simulations of the original. So, it can be done digitally without the need of a print. But since I have done it the analog way, I know exactly the effect when using Selenium Toner simulating it digitally.
在90年代Per-Olof背后的故事。
Per-Olof was my best friend early 90s (we were like bothers): him being the unpolished, raw, very different type of guy. Totally un-swedish - yet非常Swedish the other way around (in the sense of Sweden that existed in the 70s, 80s and early 90s). Not afraid of anything, a frank mouth - and a true genius in the field of electricity, with a special relation to thunderstorms. (His grandfather which PeO spend a lot of time with, learning things, was apparently the inventor behind the making of bathtubs (the right composition of the steel to be able to form bathtubs without cracking I assume).
Per-Olof, also called PeO, has a very interesting, strange look. Mike Jagger like, fascinating and weird. Because of the contrasts and opposites he represented. Also his body anatomy, was by nature, fascinating (He did not train at the gym) I don't think I have ever met a personality like him in others. Very frank - even rude - bold - and yet with glimpses of depths and intelligence. Highly manipulative at times - but I had no fear of that - because I knew him, sense it on a deeper level - therefore always been able to say "ok, stop now. No more". A very complex soul anatomy. You know - Scorpio energy; creating an destroying. It all is in there, too.
He was/is an extremely eccentric personality, while at the same time as a photo model - he was super cool, calm, helpful and a joy to work with ! Strange combo, isn't it ?
He became my main 'photo model' in the 90s (I used to work with only friends and buddies). He was my muse and inspiration due to the dynamics between us where positive tilted. The kind of guy you "steal horses with" (only with the difference that none of us stole anything from other people)
The WW2 Bomb station Photo Series
(North of Stockholm)
PeO lived in the area called Märsta, not so far away from the Stockholm Arlanda Airport (43 km north of Stockholm City) - and showed me a place - that was totally weird. Straight in the middle of nowhere, on the country side, there was something he called a "experimental bomb station from the WW2 era". A huge long tube of massive steel and concrete - open. Apparently the tube was used for testing bombs of some kind. (It doesn't exist anymore) And then there was just thisone ringlying on the ground...
Because you could climb up onto the tube, there was a little platform, I was able to set the tripod and 6x6 camera, taking images from above - while Per-Olof would simply make slow experimental positions with his body within the ring.
And when he did - the scenery had a strange feeling to it. (All kind of associations bubbling up)
This opposite of massive steel vs the soft body. The ring being able to symbolize protection, but also symbolize entrapment. Internal vs external. The body being able to symbolize vulnerability vs strength. Then the sense of "curling up" / hiding / fleeing...
