Stephanie Beaudry

Working with both still and moving imagery, the idea of the camera being analogous to the eye, combined with the act of looking and seeing, are central themes in my work. This is reflected in the decision to predominantly use a stereoscopic camera – a camera with two lenses – to capture images for two eyes. Each photo is split down the centre, separating what the left and right eyes would see. If viewed through a stereo-viewer, the two sides of the photo would merge, simulating the process of depth perception that occurs in the brain, allowing us to see in three dimensions. The stereoscopic image can potentially transform the flat plane of the photograph, but by choosing not to exhibit them with a stereo-viewer, the focus of the image is shifted to the duplicity and the centre split. When seen as two pictures side by side, comparisons are drawn both within the image frame and between each photo in the series; the idea that there is a further dimension and potential for the images is an intriguing afterthought.

A unifying theme in my practice as a whole is exploring the dynamics of stillness in a moving image, and movement in a still image. The photographs, films and slides are all a means of stopping motion, preserving time and containing and transporting a vast space.