Heather Ross
One and the Same explores mirages and other psychological and optical illusions that sometimes occur in the perception of landscapes. Creating otherworldly and surreal places, One and the Same serves as a form of visual poetry for the idea of a parallel universe that is both clear and distorted, wonderful and strange.
Once thought to be a form of witchcraft, so-called Fata Morgana mirages distort objects beyond recognition, causing viewers to frequently mistake them for floating and/or false objects or landscapes. These mirages, often constantly changing, also create interchanging expanded and compressed zones along with erect and inverted images.
Photographed in Taos, New Mexico and Leadville, Colorado, this body of work examines Fata Morgana mirages and other optical illusions by using multiple lenses, infrared filters, and long exposures to photograph landscapes. A mirage-like experience is created by placing a photograph in the back of a shadowbox frame, with a photo transfer strip placed on the front glass of the shadowbox. The two separate layers help to communicate the idea of a mirage, alternating between negative and positive images, foreground and background. A combination of both the images transferred on to the glass symbolizes the idea of an alternate world. www.hrossphotography.com
