Todd R. Forsgren
“Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink,” goes the famed line in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s 1798 epic poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Coleridge was inspired by the voyages of discovery that were occurring during the era, such as those of James Cook, Thomas James, and George Shelvocke (and similar to later expeditions like the U.S Exploring Expedition or Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle). It is a poem full of all the twists and turns characteristic of a quintessential epic.
Inspired by that poem, and the breadth of emotional responses that it elicits, I set about to make this series. I aim to create a similar emotional range through the photographic exploration of the surface of water. Water, which so unassumingly covers approximately 71% of the earth’s surface.
I have sought out some of these bodies of water that are unique in their purity and clarity, or for their incredibly high levels of toxins and pollutants. Other images mine the history of photographic technology and the ways that it can alter the appearance of water’s surface. For most of the history of photography, it has been a wet process, and I seek to connect that with these images, as I’ve likely spent as much time staring into darkroom trays as I have spent looking at the sea.
I want to push that connection between photographic material and liquid surfaces. This involves delving into early techniques use to make color photographs as well as obscure photographic materials, such as color infrared film. The results can be sublime as well as grotesque. I seek to show how infinitely varied and monotonous similar this familiar subject matter can be. An easily overlooked material that is as mundane as it is precious and essential.
