Josh Brilliant

Most Distant Visible Part of the Sea (2019 - Present) appropriates open source photographs from the Library of Congress of early 20th century tri-color separation glass negatives of Russia that were used as a survey of the vast Russian Empire between the years 1905 and 1915. Being one of the earliest experiments in tri-color separation the results included a number of failed attempts to produce a seamless color image. Working with these failed attempts I am collaging elements of multiple negatives to create a new translation that balances between abstraction and representation. Within the digital workspace I then print directly onto unprimed canvas, allowing the computer and printer to translate the digital information into the final work. Working with unprimed canvas allows the ink to soak into the canvas and shift in color and tonality, keeping the artist’s hand removed from the process and allowing imperfections to reenter the work.