The 19th century printing process of cliché verre uses the fine soot released from an oil lamp flame
to coat a piece of glass. This becomes my “negative”, I draw upon the volatile, delicate surface with
my body, and the natural world. I am able to capture the most nuanced of traces. It is a material
made from the vapors of dust. I allow my own vapors and the natural elements to reveal themselves
upon the photographic glass matrix. I then wipe away the soot, the negative of the photograph, layer
upon it, and re-expose it multiple times.

Creating momentary acts of suspension, my glass plates are vessels for keeping time. The records
are a proof of life, a rendering of a brief passage of my body, the wind, rain, and breath. I then wipe
the glass clean of it’s residue, its memory, and repeat the action again. It is a process of rebirthing
the image, creating a life cycle of the photographic negative.

All images ©Daniel Hojnacki