where steps stop by Marlene MacCallum

where steps stop is a four-part work about the flux of water, sky, ground, and the phenomena of their visual convergence. The images were gathered over three years. Making the photographic record from a single vantage point was the ritual that marked the end of each visit to the edge of Lake Ontario.

This piece is also about the nature of printing; how the record of an ephemeral situation is transformed to become a fixed printed object. In addition to the construction of images through the physical strata of print processes, I layer the written word.

The first volume, when water colours, emphasizes visual experience. The sequence of page spreads reveals the radically distinct colour realities of the lake’s edge as summer shifts to fall. The second volume, below fragrant skies, evokes scent memories conjured by the wind, air pressure and weather environments. The overlay of words both identifies cloud formations and suggests the elusive odours in the space. The text is letterpress printed in subtle ink. Words are pressed into the paper surface and hover amidst images of sky and cloud. In surfaces murmur, sonic memories are integrated into the visual record. Layers of printing echo the filter of perception. The represented space is seen through a subtle veil of thought. The digital print contains only the CMY components of a CMYK image. This is subsequently over-printed with a polymer photogravure printing of the K (black) layer. This results in a work where the coloured pigment inks sink into the paper surface and the black intaglio ink rests on top. The distinct layers of printing generate photographic and graphic realities that echo both the human presence and the natural world. The fourth, and final volume, steps stop, was inspired by driving to the lake with the car radio on while the frequencies flickered between the music of Arvo Pärt and other stations. This led to an exploration of the compositional structure of Pärt’s music. His use of a repeated and evolving triad structure with a parallel melodic line is echoed by the triad of sky-water-land and the floating words that slowly build, then stop.