My post focuses less on a specific project and more on a method of capturing that has been used throughout generations that I really find fascinating.
Kirlian Photography – or more popularly known as aura photography – started off as a method which did not use a lens at all. You would place an object onto photographic film on top of a metal plate. Then a high voltage current would create an exposure, which when exposed to light would create an “aura” print.
This idea was later remixed into the auraCamera, which is a device where people place their hands on biofeedback receptors which measure their electromagnetic field and an attached data box converts the energy readings into frequencies that correspond to certain colors. These newer cameras create the more recognized versions of aura portraits that we see regularly today – polaroids with color clouds on top of them.
I am interested in how the interpretation of these images have changed due to popular culture and business practices. Aura photography is still a prospering business (its recent revival on social media apps may have also aided in this), even though now we can easily look up an explanation to how these photos are scientifically captured. It seems that people would rather lean into its debunked paranormal myths. Also, I find it fascinating how Kirlian photography was first created to capture the energies of living things that were not human. You can take “spiritual” snapshots of literal objects, which I think also makes people re-evaluate what we should believe to have a spirit and what we should not.