270° Phases: Upstream/Downstream

The 270° Phases series marks a personal exploration of physical and emotional distance, where the artist's unique scanning techniques serve as both a creative and cathartic process. The series began as a metaphorical attempt to bridge the gaps that had formed in his life, whether it was the death of his wife, a rift in a friendship, or the yearning caused by a recent romantic separation. Laverty’s approach to this work is intensely introspective, utilizing his signature technique of "prolongance," to navigate these complex emotional landscapes.

In the early scans, Laverty meditated on the articulation and motion of his movements, transforming the scan into a visual dialogue with his inner experiences. Each scan is an in-camera aggregation of an unfolding sequence, capturing a continuum of time and emotion. The images are distorted and flayed, revealing dual horizons within a single frame, symbolizing the dualities that permeate his work: distance/closeness, past/present, forward/backward, coming/going, upstream/downstream.

As the series evolved, Laverty expanded his exploration to encompass these broader dichotomies, using his scans to explore space, time, and perspective. The dual horizons in each image reflect the tension and coexistence of these opposing forces, creating a visual representation of the struggle to reconcile them. The distorted and flattened forms in the images underscore the beauty of holding multiple perspectives simultaneously, of being both here and there, then and now.