Dark Sun Nº20, 1994
Archival pigment print
24 × 20 inches | 40 × 30 inches
Edition 15
April 21, 2025
Barbara Jaffe has observed that negative photo prints are inherently photographic—a unique way of viewing the world that is specifically afforded by the process of film photography. Jaffe began making negative prints in the late 1980s, after moving away from color photography and freely exploring dark room experimentation. Her strong attraction to pursuing negative images stemmed from her conviction that there is a dual nature to reality—a spiritual world obscured by the physical realm. For her, these inverted images served as a mysterious act of revealing. The sensuous forms of flowers, like the iris depicted in this image, lend themselves to this process of transformation, whereby a plant that would normally photosynthesize light, seems here to emit it.
