Debora Francis 2021

I am a Mexican-American photographic artist working with large-scale cameraless techniques. My images explore themes of loss, transformation, and interdependence, and I consider my art-making to be a spiritual, therapeutic process. 

Creating entirely by hand with a devotion to experimentation, I push the boundaries of traditional photography by employing a diverse range of chemistry, materials, and a distinct painterly language. Abstract and otherworldly, my one-of-a-kind works are an interplay between my mark-making and how the living print responds. My reciprocal approach is a form of alchemy, a meditation on Oneness where the self falls away, and I connect to something larger than myself.

My current practice reimagines the Mordançage process, an alternative photography technique based on a late nineteenth-century etch-bleach method that produces unique photographic relief prints through chemical and physical manipulation of gelatin silver photograms.

Motivated by a desire to have a transcendent, transformative experience, I apply Mordançage chemistry to a fully processed photogram; as the image bleaches, the darkest areas of the emulsion begin to lift, and the print takes on a life of its own. I redevelop and manipulate the paper's malleable surface, forming a mutual dependency. The resulting photographic trace emerges as a visual narrative echoing the intricacies of interrelation. Just as I rely on spiritual influences to guide me, so too does the interaction require my presence to materialize. My work preserves this sacred encounter and allows me to give in return as much as I have received.

To inquire about prints, licensing information and/or collaborations, please contact me below.