LJ Evans
Photography
Botanicals
Over the winter of 2020 – 2021 I began experimenting with creating images using a flatbed scanner. The process I settled on is relatively simple: I scanned each of these objects in a darkened room with the cover of the scanner up, instead of flat against the glass. The only source of light is the LED in the bar of the scanner.
Consistently the images I found most compelling and thought-provoking were of plant materials: flowers, leaves, even whole plants. I’m an avid gardener, indoors and out. Working with and photographing plant materials is a natural extension of a deep personal interest, and a reflection of my appreciation for the living, natural world.
For most of these images, what you see is basically what I got — I made very few alterations in Photoshop.
I included plant materials with damaged bits or bruises, signs that their time was coming to an end. I wanted to emphasize the fragility, the ephemerality of these living things. A reminder of momento mori — that all of us must perish.
