Photography by Rik Garrett

Rik Garrett photography

Subtle Bodies is a collection of several bodies of work. Each is an attempt to use the media of photography to capture the invisible and intangiable in relation to my own life. I draw upon the history of photographic tools used in relation to parapsychology and the occult.

Aether Field Portraits are initially photographed as portraits. After a photograph is taken on instant film, before processing the material is then subjected to a homemade Kirlian device – an invention said to make the human aura visible. The final image can then be read in a diagnostic manner, either as a fortuneteller would read tea leaves or a psychoanalyst a Rorschach test.

Aether Field Portrait, Figure 1-1 (December 18, 2011)

The Chronovisor is a device rumored to have the ability to view forward or backward in time. The most well known Chronovisor is that of Father Marcello Pellegrino Ernetti, who in the 1960s used his device to document the crucifixion of Christ, among other things. I have chosen to use my time camera to document the things most relevant to me: significant dates from my past, events in my immediate future and revelations of the city that I live in.

The Great Chicago Fire, October 9th, 1871 (Photographed March 3, 2012)

Below are different approaches to capture photographically the human life force, whether it be known as the aura, Wilhelm Reich's Orgone, Prana, Qi, Vril, etc. People have attempted to capture this tangiably since photography was invented. I have utilized a variety of means to do this, including homemade Kirlian devices, new approaches to 19th century methods and antique medical devices.

Hand - Self Portrait (RA-4 modification of Adrien Majewski's 19th century "Humid" process)

Self Portrait - Hand (Kirlian photograph using vintage Violet Ray device)