DestructiveRestriction

A Tale of

DestructiveRestriction

All black and white photographs were processed, printed and developed in the darkroom. All Salt prints (diluted Silver Nitrate + Citric Acid painted onto paper that has been soaked in Sodium Chloride) were exposed using sunlight, and fixed in my bathroom (Sodium Thiosulphate + Sodium Carbonate). Every print is completely unique.

Story & Photography By Gabriella Franchetti

Art Direction : John Addison Wise

A Tale of

DestructiveRestriction

In the corner blue smoke curls up from a filterless rollie through the glare of the 40-watt bulb that lost its shade long ago. The light that is cast through the bars of the cage tattoos her flesh; the regulated lines are warped across her contours and curves. A cloud of dust erupts from the disturbed armchair cushion, hangs suspended in the air for a moment, and then settles onto the open pages of a discarded porno magazine.

I ask if she’s having difficulty breathing, whist continuing to tighten the cords. I can feel the vibrations of the tension against my fingertips. Her silence assures me that she’s not in too much pain. I feel that the freedom to choose our own restrictions subdues our discomfort, or at least hushes it to a whisper, a reminder that this physical transformation was self-imposed.

I drag myself further into the darkness and pick through the collected objects, the symbols and the antiques. I place her in the centre of the round, wooden table, which in turn is surrounded by the barred bay windows. As the thin evening sunlight diminishes, I draw

the curtains, confirming her captivity. I dwell for a moment in the luxury

of dreaming about a confined spirit, a preserved bird in an unlocked cage.

As the increasing empty film canisters begin to roll across the floor, I aim to explore the apparent liberation of nakedness, and the choice to be controlled. I reflect that perhaps the end point of freedom becomes vulnerability.

I went looking for trouble; my desires to self restrict, to limit my options, to create a new challenge. My approach to creating these images using obsolete methods; there will be no undo button; there are no quick fixes.