Nature Transformed: LAIRD

The Art Guild of St. John's Cathedral presents an Easter Season exhibition in keeping with the transformative nature of Jesus's life on earth, his death, and resurrection. The images in this exhibition show a new kind of imagery made possible by a heightened creativity. It is, in turn, made possible by the developing technology available to today's photographic artists.

A respected Jacksonville photographer, Laird is well known for his professional commercial photography. In this exhibition, he has created a body of work he calls CPhace images. And they reveal a mastery of technique and a creativity that utterly transforms natural phenomena such as glaciers, rainforest, plantations, botanical gardens, swamps, reefs, mud flats, and coral landscapes. The notation on the label of each image reveals the initial source.

Lush landscape images are captured with a converted camera that records infrared waves of the electromagnetic light spectrum that are invisible to the naked eye. The images are manipulated to create transformed images which are then enhanced with color variations. The results are symmetrical images of organic forms with a central axis. With each image, Nature becomes a bit less complex in color but more complex in its shapes, textures, and lines.

This new world of imagery that comes from the line of creativity started a relatively short time ago with cameras only using film moving to digital cameras with a much wider range of possibilities. As with the camera, the printing process with archival inks on new exotic grounds (metallic papers) rapidly evolved, and imagery such as these transformed CPhace images of Laird's became possible. They pulse with a transformative creative that will challenge, delight, and refresh the viewer.

All images are printed with archival inks on metallic paper in limited editions of 25. The images measure 44" x 40". In the exhibitions all the work is presented under clear plastic. The artist will change out the plastic for UV glass for purchasers of the works, if the buyer wishes it.

An artist reception is planned in Taliaferro Hall on Sunday, May 14, immediately following the First Coast Wind Ensemble concert. The concert begins at 5 p.m. in the Cathedral.