where steps stop by Marlene MacCallum

where steps stop is a four-part work about the flux of water, sky, ground, and the phenomena of their visual convergence. The images were gathered over three years. Making the photographic record from a single vantage point was the ritual that marked the end of each visit to the edge of Lake Ontario.This piece is also about the nature of printing; how the record of an ephemeral situation is transformed to become a fixed printed object. In addition to the construction of images through the physical strata of print processes, I layer the written word.The first volume, when water colours, emphasizes visual experience. The sequence of page spreads reveals the radically distinct colour realities of the lake’s edge as summer shifts to fall. The second volume, below fragrant skies, evokes scent memories conjured by the wind, air pressure and weather environments. The overlay of words both identifies cloud formations and suggests the elusive odours in the space. The text is letterpress printed