In this series of works shown I collaborated with photographer, Steph Estrada, with the broken down elements of my Grid series. In the first set of photos, under close direction with Steph, I use the Mylar and it's reflective properties in a new light, further reinterpreting its association with my installation practice. Together we refocus how the Mylar absorbs and distorts our environment acting as fluid as water and air.    

Reinterpreting the Mylar, 2018
All photos taken and provided by Steph Estrada.
In the second series of photos, Steph and I deconstruct my projected grid work and play around with the properties of light to further explore the flexible elements of color and projected pixels. We use a piece of translucent cloth to capture and enhance this idea of deconstructing the grid. I am used as a model, again under close direction of Steph, to better understand the relationship of human form with these elements. 

Deconstructing the Grid, 2018
All photos taken and provided by Steph Estrada.
Filmed by Steph Estrada
Edited by Steph Estrada and Crystal Alyssa
In the third series Steph wanted to do a photo shoot in a sunflower field and she used my mirror to redirect and project light reflections back onto me. I used a mirror to redirect the reflection of the sun to her and that continues the conversation of collaboration through projections of light. The particles of projection light are pixels so equally the particles of a sun’s rays are natural light. The sunflowers represent the “sun’s” pixels as a parallel echo of the pixels in digitally projected light. All of these shoots used my material in more natural elements under a more organic art direction; opposite to my controlled digital environments/installations. The picture of the hands being reflected onto two separate mirrors emphasizes the idea of systemizing the separate body parts. The image also pays homage to Michael Angelo’s The Creation of Adam, which has been argued to metaphorically represent how humans or internally organized within their own natural “grid” system.

This raises new questions. Are these elements that once supported the idea that the grid system, is not only found everywhere but also man made, a natural system? Has this grand grid system slowly developed a more obvious and physical appearance over time from the Universe’s inception

Sunflections, 2018
All photos taken and provided by Steph Estrada.