Solve et Coagula

This book consists of pages taken from an 1880’s encyclopedia, onto which I have printed computer manipulated images, which were then re-bound as a book, sorted roughly by the original encyclopedia subject headings. The pages originally illustrated what in the 1880’s was the most advanced technology, science and scholarship known in the West. The digital printing on top of these engravings consists of abstractions adapted from paintings and drawings I have made in the past, as well as images of tribal objects.

The term “solve et coagula” is taken from alchemy and refers to polar states of matter (dissolved and congealed) as well as polar states of spiritual awareness (unconsciousness and enlightenment). The digital medium becomes a foil to the archaic iconography in my effort to question conflicted notions of technological and intellectual progress. This work has emanated from my fascination with the collision and union of disparate forms, imagery and media.