Jessica Thalmann works within the space between 2-dimensional representation and 3-dimensional experience. Through use of specialized paper folding methods, her photography-based works translate abstracted impressions of the light and colour relationships found within the structures of large-scale, urban architectural forms. Jessica’s 2022 Smokestack Quarterly issue, fiery pools reflecting in asphalt, presents a brightly colored, folded photographic print that continues these explorations. Describing the inspiration behind this edition, Jessica shares:
This photograph was taken at Highway 407 station, a concrete vision of cosmic futurism replete with cool curvilinear forms reminiscent of Zaha Hadid. As I descended the grand escalators into the abyss of the subway, I hardly noticed but the light slowly turned oxide yellow, cerulean and viridian. I started seeing colors reflected back on the shiny metal and concrete surfaces of these suburban stations. Here, the image was folded, flattened and held together to ultimately distort the pictorial plane to bring into focus the ways the camera can skew and alter reality.
