Threshold
Part of Double Layers, a story told in sky and skin, code and memory.
Keyword: Open
Media:
5x5 archival pigment print on 7x7.5 Hahnemühle German Etching paper with hand-torn edges;
Dye-sublimation print on ChromaLuxe Matte Maple panel (7x7 on 8x10)
Image Description:
This layered diptych juxtaposes two portals. On one side, a screen capture of the Find/Replace function in a Numbers spreadsheet searches for “love.” On the other, a tightly cropped image of a crisp white bedsheet — a remembered self-portrait caught mid-breath. The former is a digital tool of control and substitution; the latter, a physical trace of presence and longing. Both panes reveal surface interruptions — screen moiré, sensor anomalies — bridging the digital and material world. These abnormalities resemble fingerprints. The sky is new, the sheet is old. Together they create a daydream — grounded yet suspended.
Statement of Intent / Artist Interpretation:
Threshold explores the tension between looking forward and looking back — between what is searched for, and what is already known but difficult to hold. The piece was once gifted and returned, but the intuitive choice to make and give it reaffirmed the artist’s trust in her own emotional perception. The use of spreadsheet interface and bedsheet motif mirror each other in both language and texture. The split between digital abstraction and sensory memory is deliberate. This image marks the start of something new and the farewell to something once deeply known. It is a quiet reclaiming — longing, recognizing, and letting go at once.
Emotional Response:
Threshold holds a kind of still electricity — the feeling just before something changes. The gentle torn edges of the print suggest a reverence for the scars of transition, while the solid weight of the materials speaks to the grounding power of choice. There’s longing here, but also bravery. It doesn’t rush. It invites the viewer to feel the ache of searching and the grace of surrender. It leaves you lighter, but only after you’ve come closer.
Lyrics Association:
Worth It – Haley Heynderickx
So you're waiting on the coastline
Waiting for the right sign
Waiting for the opportunity to hit you right
So put me in a line
Add another line
Soon you'll have a box
And you can put me inside
These lines reflect the experience of being compartmentalized, the slow erasure of self through substitution — and the brave, clear refusal to stay boxed.
Finishing Summary / Viewer Experience:
The German etching print feels rich in the hand — its hand-torn edges invite close attention and reverence, suggesting a tender interaction with boundaries. Despite its small 5x5 size, its emotional impact is intimate and powerful — you move closer because you cannot zoom. The dye-sub panel carries weight but surprises with its soft, warm finish. You want to touch the sky, but can’t feel the grain. You hang it, admire it, and release it — because the story is not yours, yet it reveals you. This piece hopes to be a mirror disguised as wall art: specific and universal, present and past, one of a kind.
Let me explain some of my inspirations in Threshold: This image is a diptych. One “window” reflects the control+f function for find/replace. I’m searching for love in the field. The other are the wrinkles of a clean crisp bedsheet, cropped from a self portrait. The untitled self portrait was made while I was daydreaming of home. Another dichotomy. It was a window to a former time and featured a window. Both have screen abnormalities which echo the digital interface. The Sheet image is old and the Sky is new. The comparison between sky and bed make you daydream while grounding you. Remember that this was a gift that was returned. My love had been searching for and replacing me in the real world. A coincidence that reveals a lot of trust that I’m building in my gut instincts. This is the start of a new and the end of the old. I’m looking longingly at both.
I think my material choices should be included in this statement. Both the etching print and the panel have weight to them, more weight than expected.
The edges of the etching print are torn evenly, letting scars form where they land. It’s an expression of paying attention to those edges, those “boundaries”, then caring for them. The paper is gallery quality but has been manipulated, possibly devalued, but still remains beautiful. There’s a juxtaposition between this digital subject matter and the analog feel of the print. The print feels sturdy in your hand but you recognize how fragile it is. You want to touch it but not make it dirty. The square “box” composition, and small size (5x5) make you want to pinch and zoom the image to get closer. But you can’t, so you move closer. Once you process your feeling you are ready to put the print down. It feels lighter now.
The panel print has a soft feel to it. That is juxtaposited to the sharp edges. You wouldn’t know that holding the print was okay. The panel has wood grain exposed, visible, but not able to be felt. The subject matter is the sky overlay from the etching print. This is a “straight” shot, with minimal editing. The only post processing done to the sky is to increase contrast and affect color temperature. The resulting sky is beautiful, realistic and dreamy at the same time. There is no digital or text overlay. It feels natural. As you go to hang it back on the wall for others to see, you let go of your personal attachment to the work. You decide that the dye sub print is worthy of being displayed in your home because it connected to your heart, mind and senses. But you let it go, because the story, while relatable, is not yours and belongs to the author/creator.