The Artist: Amy Elkins
Amy Elkins is a contemporary artist and photographer who turned inwards during the Pandemic with her conceptual approach to portraiture and the human condition during the lockdowns. Elkins uses cyanotype processing, a simple 19th Century technique that remained possible in a world without retail. Her thoughtful engagement with time during the lockdown, showing vulnerability with one Anxious Pleasure photograph shared a day.
" I found myself in a 340 sq ft apartment in a Bay-area neighborhood that was emptying by the day. The buzzing silence was profound. Two weeks into isolation, my drive to connect with others and make portraits only amplified. With no safe way to do so, I spontaneously turned the camera on myself to create a portrait. I printed it as a cyanotype, a simple nineteenth century photographic process that was only feasible due to the basic materials I happened to have on hand—a budget printer, transparency film and a package of fraying sheets of cotton pretreated with cyanotype chemicals."
The Collection: "Anxious Pleasures"
Anxious Pleasures is one of Amy Elkins’ most poignant and visually arresting collections. The bluish tinge throughout the collection reflecting our collective anxiety at the unprecedented situation. A makeshift mask is added, fabric shrouding her face, a metaphorical retracting behind the veil. The bottom left shows one of the simpler compositions of a Monster leaf outlining Elkin’s hidden face.
A Specific Artwork: Anxious Pleasures - 2020_0501
One of the most evocative pieces in the Anxious Pleasures collection, 2020_0501 captures the essence of Elkins’ artistic vision. The image features a partially obscured face, the empty La Croix box refashioned into a kind of knights helmet, suggesting the frustration of the protective measures in place. The empty La Croix cans arranged into an over-sized recycled necklace marking the passage of time in quiet reflection.
