Jane Yudelman

Uncharted Geography

January 3 - March 6, 2020

Uncharted Constellations

Being open to explore where an encounter can transport me, my imagination charts new constellations. These nightscapes begin with sun on snow.

In this series, I have set about transforming the sparkling highlights of the day-lit winter snows of northern Maine into imaginary star-filled skyscapes. The glitter of sunlight on snow lifts me out of this world and into another level of perception; standing in snowy fields I am standing in a star-lit sky. The camera’s limited ability to capture the intensity of this light provides an opportunity to innovate. In creating these images I interfere with the spatial and temporal dimensions, transforming the finite to the infinite and the transient to the timeless.

This process evokes both real and other-worldly night skies. At certain points my compositions transport me to skies reminiscent of those I have experienced in Namibia, the Philippines and Nepal. On other occasions I become an astronomer painting constellations of uncharted skies. For me, this series is a meditation on the mystery of perception, the fluidity of time and space and the endless wonder of the stars.

The Geography of Light

Natural landscapes—sea, sky, horizon, clouds—nurture my sense of wonder about the universe and the nature of Time, and call me to reflect on my place in it all.

In this series I am taking a subject that is deeply familiar and significant to me and observing it closely in a variety of locations and at different times. I purposely defocus each images I take to strip it of all immediately recognizable form. Doing so reveals a world of ever-changing light and color not at first immediately apparent to me. In essence I am seeing beyond or behind what I “knew” to be solid and true.

To sketch out a roadmap through the longitude and latitude of this newly revealed terrain, I assembled into grids multiple images captured at a particular location. Each image is a small landmark within this map of space and time. The choice of images included in each grid was guided by pre-determined time-based rules. In other words, before creating an image I decided on the time interval to use—for example, nine visual moments from one day in Maine or forty-eight visual moments from one week in New Mexico. After selecting the specific images, I curated them into the grid to help me navigate my inward journey between memory and place.

ABOUT THE ARTIST: Jane Yudelman was born in South Africa, grew up in England and now divides her time between Massachusetts and Maine. Having worked professionally for many years in poverty-alleviation programs around the world, she turns to photography to remind herself of the beauty that exists in a world of economic, social and political injustice. Her creative and contemplative practices have led her to explore the nature of perception—how our minds shape the way we see—while still emphasizing the importance and uplifting qualities of natural beauty in today’s turbulent world. Jane’s work has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the United States including the Griffin Museum of Photography and the Fort Wayne Museum of Art and has won a number of awards in exhibitions. Her images can be found in private collections in the United States and Europe and corporate collections in Maine. https://janeyudelman.com/