David Lancaster - Artist's Statement
The ice photographs were begun in the winter
of 2004, at my home in Lexington, Massachusetts during the record cold days of January. While out
on a walk scouting the Great Meadows Wildlife National Refuge, I discovered a large block of ice,
obviously removed from the riverside and set next to a wooden bench. The ice was unexpectedly
beautiful in its form, fracturing my view as I circled it in the terrible cold wind. As my dog
began to complain, I decided I could not part with this amazing ice, so after struggling to get
it back to my car I drove home with it, where I put it outside my studio door on a table top to
further study with the camera as it melted and refroze several times over the next several
weeks.
Using a 35 mm camera and a macro lens, I began a series of meditations inspired
by the block of ice, which provided a canvas for the creation of ever-changing images.
The ice itself was a thing of beauty, with many dimensions to explore. The addition of
natural materials - leaves and petals, altered the motif. A leaf placed one day would
be embedded in the ice the next, creating a variation on the previous day's theme.
The photographs made during this period record nature itself suggesting artistic motifs: the strain of
a crack in the ice, the vivid red petal of a tulip revealed through the frozen surface, and the flux
of time and the elements muting the original beauty of the flower.
This microcosm of an otherwise unnoticed world reflects an ever-moving dance,
and the images encourage us to observe both the energy and the minute details of nature.
Through them we can meditate on our relationship with nature, too often forgotten in an
increasingly frantic world.
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