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Andrew Eckhardt
At the Bend in the Bright River
At the Bend in the Bright River is a collection of portraits that celebrate the beauty and stillness of quiet moments of intimacy between me and members of my queer family. Heavily influenced by film, literature, and queer temporality theories, the portraits explore the passage of time in intimate relationships by combining elements of photographic and drawn information. By combining elements of drawing and photography within a body of lithographic prints I aim to complicate, prolong, and elaborate on the act of reproducing the likeness of another person. The portraits of At the Bend in the Bright River are bolstered by a series of smaller contextual images that bridge and complicate the relationship between each of the sitters.
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Tina with Coffee
Lithograph
34"x26"
2022
Tina with Coffee represents two moments in time overlaid over one another to create the transient bridge between those moments. The small shifts between the colour and black images indicate the relatively short period of time in which Tina and I were able to exist together, rather than a singular moment. The union of drawing, photography and analogue means of reproduction are used to elaborate on the voracity of the photomechanical image. I was most excited by the interaction between drawing and photo in Tina’s hands. For me, the shifts between the two information systems speaks to the way in which the real Tina moves and shifts her hands in order to adjust her jewellery. Looking at her hands in Tina with Coffee gives me a glimpse of the real Tina, sitting in front of me, fidgeting with her hands.
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Connor with an Orange
Lithograph
16"x20"
2023
I wanted this piece to present a more languid visual approach to the passage of time, so I overlaid roughly one hundred stills from a short super8 film to create the equivalent of a long exposure. This long exposure is printed along with a drawing of a single still from the film. The relationship between drawing and photography in this piece becomes more of an act of definition and clarification. Because the photographic element of the piece is so soft and hazy the body and personality of the figure almost become lost. My act of rendering through drawing then becomes an act of recording presence and insistence.
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Austen with Her Life in Boxes in the Centre of Her New Living Room
Lithograph
34"x24"
2023
Austen with Her Life in Boxes in the Centre of Her New Living Room serves as something of a counterpoint to the other portraits in the series. In spite of what I have previously said about time, I found myself attracted to this simple image of Austen, caught in a moment. Each of the other portraits feature a conscientiousness and awareness of the camera that produces a stiffness. While I love the more formal postures of Tina and Connor in their respective portraits, there was an ease in this moment of Austen being caught off guard. There is something about Austen meeting the gaze of the camera over her scrolling through her phone and holding her vape that feels honest, unpretentious and self-possessed.
