The Implied Line
The Implied Line references the camera lucida, an optical instrument that uses a prism to project an image onto a surface, allowing it to be traced by hand. In this work, the transparency of archival photographs is transformed into digital light projections, creating a space between the original image and its reinterpretation. By tracing and retracing the contours and features of these photographs, I mirror the original subjects while creating a new image through the physical act of drawing. Each line becomes a gesture of reconstruction, allowing me to revisit and reimagine moments preserved in the photographic archive. The photograph serves as the trigger, and the act of tracing becomes a form of intimate engagement with the past. Driven by a longing to enter the image and connect with the people and moments it holds, the work transforms the act of looking into an act of participation. Through this process, I insert my own presence into the image, bridging the distance between the past and the present, the remembered and the lived.
The implied line (Portrait of Mom in dads restaurant - Pho Ly), 2016
The implied line (1981 Self Portrait with mom ), 2016
The implied line (Mom posing for Dad), 2016
The implied line (1984 portrait of brother and mom with sunflower), 2016
