The Box

A full collateral project by Wesley Channell that encapsulates the beauty of light and human form. The inspiration behind this project stemmed from his love for sculpture and light. His project describes the many different ways to think of photography. “However, to me,” says Channell, “It is best to go back to its simplest definition, which would translate as ‘to write with light.’ Anyone can take a good picture, but to truly be an artist one must make a picture. To do that, one must know the language of light in all its many permutations—sunlight, shaded light, ambient light, artificial light, etc.” One of my favorite analogies of a photography is to sculpt with light. I’m inspired to do that in all the picture s I make, but especially in my series: The Box.”

This series was inspired by the actual sculptures of the late Richard McDermott Miller. “I have been fortunate to experience his sculpture first hand in Brookgreen Gardens, the largest sculpture garden of American sculptures in the world,” said Channell. “I have made many pilgrimages there over the years to gaze all the great work of many artists, but I’ve always been most impressed by Miller’s works. By mere happenstance, years ago I was able to acquire a small piece of his which ultimately inspired The Box. One day while admiring this small piece it occurred to me to have a life size box made for models to pose in and be shot silhouette. Yet I didn’t shoot them in a flat silhouette, but one that was intensive and reflected light off their bodies like light reflects off statues. Thus, this series is a homage to sculpture and a homage to the language of light which is forever changing and illuminating my art.”