Chris began this on-going project in 2018, reflecting on his personal internal experience but little did he know, this theme would become relevant to a much wider audience two short years later. In the midst of 2020, it feels nearly prescient. The whole collection can be seen at christophergauthier.com. Selecting each image in the linked gallery allows you to explore the details in an enlarged image. Click the link – you won’t be disappointed.
Life often challenges our known ideas, set of assumptions, or plans for the future with the chaos of sudden change. It is in that place that we must make decisive choices. Crucible is about a defining moment and the emergence of something new. It is about bringing a dark and imperfect order to chaos, soothing anxiety through the use of symmetry, repetition, geometric and biomorphic design.
I find myself carefully observing objects in the natural world with reverence, almost coming to believe the cosmos has placed such objects in my path. Bringing the object into the studio, I remove it from its original context. Through post-production I shatter the image; rearranging the millions of shards and remaining forms. The process of creating this work is a physical manifestation of an internal process, intentionally slowing down driven impulsive thoughts to amplify my awareness with the observation of a moment in time; culminating in a completed piece that has elements of both cynicism and whimsy.
As a trained film photographer, this work departs from a traditional camera centered approach and has freed me to embrace the ever-changing flexibility of the medium.