I've always been fascinated by the esoteric nature of aura photography. The images captured by Guy Coggins' Auracam 6000 (the industry standard) are hauntingly beautiful. But the price point of the camera and the secretive nature around buying and using one, makes the whole endeavor seem like a con. Today you can find a dozen or so Aura Photographers traveling around the world using Coggins' $10,000 machine to show people what their electromagnetic fields look like and supposedly what they mean.
Growing up an evangelical Christian home, bordering on Pentecostal, I've become a huge skeptic, especially of anyone claiming to sell you information about yourself. My intent with this project is to take the idea of Aura Photography and give the power back to the subject. Each person who sat for these portraits chose their own color and their own meaning behind the colored aura that would float around them in the final product. To add a level of mysticism while also harkening to the Auracam's 80's origin, I created my own machine to make these images. I built a 5 camera stand that instantaneously captures 5 images of my subject. Then using an 80's technique called lenticular printing, I combine the images into a final 3D photo. As you move around the final result the subject moves with you, creating a subtle and eerie experience for the viewer. I call it The Dimensional Analysis Machine as a tongue-in-cheek jab at the self-serious nature surrounding traditional aura photography.
These final products are very difficult to convey by just taking a photograph of them. A video works much better as you can film as you walk around the image and see it change. Because I was not able to submit videos I instead uploaded the central portrait and then 5 small images of the final lenticular print from 5 different angles. This gives a small sense of what it's like to walk around the images. Please let me know if there is a way I can supply you with videos for your consideration.
Thank you.
