Folding Screens
by Jeffrey D. Mathias

Beginning with the Chinese, folding screens have appeared throughout history.  The screens produced thus far are tea screens.  Tea screens are sized to stand on a table and protect ones tea from cooling too quickly. The folding of the screen is used to interpret of the image which changes dramatically when panels are moved into various positions around the carefully selected axies.   The image appears more realistic dimensionally when the panels are folded in opposition to a natural change in direction, such as with a corner of a building.  The folding between concave and convex can also cause interpreted space to move in front or behind objects in the image.  The screen creates its own environment and serves a utilitarian function.

The photographer's first folding screen was made in 1989 with the intent to better understand the environmental space being photographed.  A single flat traditional image seemed to lack ability to convey enough information and feeling of the photographed spaces.

<>The folding screen displays a photograph in a unique and important way and can deliver much different information than the typical flat format.  The imagery on the panels can be combined from differing vantage points as well as a straight panorama.  This can add energy or movement as well as the elements and discoveries of multiple perspectives.  The screen may have imagery on both sides.  When the screen is folded, an image on one side can have a connected relationship with the image on the opposite side.  When a screen is place near a window, the illumination of the panels varies producing dramatic changes throughout the day.<>

Use of the folding screen has prompted the photographer to investigate other materials and other formats to utilize and present the photographic image.
 

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