Marcy Palmer
Firestorm/Time for Change, 2021

24k gold on archival pigment on vellum with UV varnish, wax
11 x 8.5 inches
Edition 3/10, signed, on print
Framed
Courtesy of the artist
Estimated value: $750

“You Are Eternity” is an exploration of beauty as an antidote for personal and political crisis. In times of heartache, disaster, impasse, many turn to the idea of beauty in the natural world as a place of refuge. Writer and philosopher John O’Donohue states, “I think that beauty is not a luxury, but that it ennobles the heart and reminds us of the infinity that is within us.” That idea resonates with me and inspired this project.

I have used a variety of botanicals in the images, many of them are often overlooked wildflowers or plants. I gild them to recognize and elevate them; this acts as a metaphor for moments of beauty or transcendence in life, but also for people and political change.

The plants and flowers are photographed, printed on vellum, hand gilded with 24k or 18k gold leaf, with applied varnish and wax. The project is inspired by Anna Atkins’s botanical studies as well as surrealist photographers who manipulated imagery and materials, such as Florence Henri, Dora Maar, and Maurice Tabard, to visualize an imagined realm.

About the Artist:
Marcy Palmer

Marcy Palmer’s work circles around themes of home, beauty, nature, and science. Marcy has an MFA in photography and related media from the School of Visual Arts and a BS in studio art from Skidmore College.

Marcy’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at various spaces including Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA; Brooklyn Museum of Art; Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA; Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans; Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CA; Berlin Biennial of Fine Art and Documentary Photography; Watershed Media Centre, Bristol, UK; and other venues. Her work has been written about in The Boston Globe Sunday Edition, D Magazine, Humble Arts Foundation, L’Oiel de la Photographie, Lenscratch, One Twelve, and other publications.

Marcy released a book with Yoffy Press at the end of 2020 titled You Are Eternity, You Are the Mirror, which was chosen as a PhotoEye 2020 favorite photobook; The Luupe’s Best Women-Made Photobooks of 2020; and Deep Red Press’s memorable photobooks of 2020. She lives and works in Dallas, TX.

Website: marcypalmer.com