Golden Watkins, 2016
after Carleton E. Watkins, ‘Pohono, the Bridal Veil, Yosemite, 900 feet.’, 1865-66
oil on print
sheet: 11 x 13 3/4 in. (28 x 35 cm)
frame: 18 1/4 x 15 3/8 x 1 in. (46,5 x 39 x 2,5 cm)
Private Collection, Denmark
Over Watkins, 2015
after Carleton E. Watkins, ‘The Yosemite Valley from Inspiration Point’, 1865-66
oil, gouache, graphite, acrylic, ink on print
sheet: 11 x 13 3/4 in. (28 x 35 cm)
frame: 18 1/4 x 15 3/8 x 1 in. (46,5 x 39 x 2,5 cm)
Over Watkins, 2015
after Carleton E. Watkins, ‘The Vernal and Nevada Fall, Yosemite’, 1865-66
oil, graphite, gouache, acrylic, ink on print
sheet: 11 x 13 3/4 in. (28 x 35 cm)
frame: 18 1/4 x 15 3/8 x 1 in. (46,5 x 39 x 2,5 cm)
Over Watkins, 2015
after Carleton E. Watkins 'Cascades between the Vernal and Nevada, Yosemite’, 1861
oil, graphite, gouache, acrylic, ink on print
sheet: 11 x 13 3/4 in. (28 x 35 cm)
frame: 18 1/4 x 15 3/8 x 1 in. (46,5 x 39 x 2,5 cm)
Private Collection, Asnieres
Through a process of pictorial rewriting, Sophie Kitching reinterpretes Carleton E. Watkins’ XIXth century photographs of Yosemite. The scope of these images, reflecting the immensity of the American West, is both poetic and political. These panoramas influenced President Lincoln to sign a decree in 1864 for the preservation of these natural spaces, which became the predecesors to National Parks. In the series Over Watkins (2015) and Golden Watkins (2016), Sophie Kitching appropriates these images following an experimental approach. Strokes of color enhance or obstruct the composition, underline certain patterns, and redefine the limits of the image, beyond the photographic frame. The palette used includes graphite, gouache, acrylic, oil paint and oil pastel, and reflects however a desire not to wound the original print which, over time, continues to fade. The landscape, freed from natural motifs, gains a kind of independence and projects itself into a more abstract emanation or artifact. From observation to permeation, Sophie Kitching’s series sees the original images gradually disappear and the overpainted photographs gain an identity of their own, which lies at the frontier of representation and perception.
Over Watkins, 2015
Golden Watkins, 2016
after Carleton E. Watkins
installation view, ‘Nuits Américaines’, Maison de Chateaubriand, Chätenay-Malabry, France, 2017-18
Over Watkins, 2015
after Carleton E. Watkins, ‘View from the Sentinel Dome, Yosemite’, 1865-66
oil, graphite, gouache, acrylic, ink on print
sheet: 11 x 13 3/4 in. (28 x 35 cm)
frame: 18 1/4 x 15 3/8 x 1 in. (46,5 x 39 x 2,5 cm)
Over Watkins, 2015
after Carleton E. Watkins, ‘View from the Sentinel Dome, Yosemite’, 1865-66
oil, graphite, gouache, acrylic, ink on print
sheet: 11 x 13 3/4 in. (28 x 35 cm)
frame: 18 1/4 x 15 3/8 x 1 in. (46,5 x 39 x 2,5 cm)
Over Watkins, 2015
after Carleton E. Watkins, ‘View from the Sentinel Dome, Yosemite’, 1865-66
oil, graphite, gouache, acrylic, ink on print
sheet: 11 x 13 3/4 in. (28 x 35 cm)
frame: 18 1/4 x 15 3/8 x 1 in. (46,5 x 39 x 2,5 cm)
Golden Watkins, 2016
after Carleton E. Watkins
oil on print
28 x 35 cm
private collection
Golden Watkins, 2016
after Carleton E. Watkins
oil on print
28 x 35 cm
private collection
Golden Watkins, 2016
after Carleton E. Watkins
oil on print
28 x 35 cm
private collection
Over Watkins, The Lake Bank, 2015
after Carleton E. Watkins ‘The Lake Bank, Yosemite’, 1861
oil, gouache, graphite, ink on print
28 x 35 cm
private collection