LIITE Fantastic
Scanned Negatives from Fuji Instant Film / 2015
LIITE Fantastic was heavily influenced by the healing crystal encyclopedia and manifesto Love is in the Earth by Melody. The central belief around crystal healing is that specific stones energetically vibrate at a level that activates and shifts the energy around its owner, inviting healing, protection, and positive change. The stones are viewed as gifts of wisdom from a planet that actively cares for the humans living on it. Critical of the ability of a mineral to ignite real change in my life, but desperate for change none the less, I created these images as a way to explore these ideas on my own terms.
These 13 instant film images were captured by replacing the lens of a Polaroid Land camera with a quartz crystal energetically charged for healing, resulting in an ambiguous swirl of light. Shot on peel-apart pack film, I discarded the prints and reclaimed the negatives from the portion of the film usually thrown away. The process of reclaiming the negatives required harsh bleaching and damaged each image, mirroring the environmentally harmful way that many healing crystals are removed from the earth.
