Eric Clay

An absurdist look to a moment in time that marks a turning point for humanity in which technology, including photography, began to move forward at a rapid rate. I combine Victorian era portraits that I source from antique stores with my own animal photography as a juxtaposition to reflect on the unique behaviors and evolving social constructs that separate us from other animals. In my printing process I have developed a technique that gives my prints the feel of antiquated techniques by using modern processes. I begin with bare aluminum sheets that are then painted with a metallic gold paint as a base color. The sheets are then coated with a specially formulated coating that gives the print some texture and allows a black pigment ink print to be transferred onto the metal. The prints are then finalized with a protective varnish. The final prints are then placed in a custom built framing that has a design that beckons back to antiquity but is uniquely modern in its own right.