What if a photograph has no subject?

     Can a photograph have no foreground or background, only textures and forms lying in the two-dimensional plane? Photographs can convincingly transfer a three-dimensional scene into two dimensions in a way that the viewer still perceives depth and distance. But can they transfer a three-dimensional scene onto a two-dimensional canvas, where color, texture, shapes, and light do not contribute to an overall illusion but are themselves the subject? These are the questions that inspired this project, in which a camera is used to create images that represent nothing. These photographs are composed with a focus on the balance between negative and positive space and the interplay of color and tone; the real-world object which acts as the source of the image is only a subtle presence. These photographs are purely visual; in some the subject is unclear, in others it is obvious, but in all, it is unimportant. This project is an attempt to capture the abstract spaces, forms and textures that are ubiquitous but often overlooked.

     It can be argued that abstract photography is a contradiction. If the camera captures the light reflected from a real object (which is all it can do), how can the result be anything but a representation of reality? This question is impossible to answer, but fascinating to explore. I believe that even if a photograph represents a moment from reality, it can be produced and viewed abstractly, as pure color, light and form. That is the goal of the work presented here. In the context of this project, real objects are only byproducts of light and form, and negative space is of equal value to positive - the visual aspect of these concepts is explored here, but these ideas have broader philosophical implications as well.