This series is a good example of my working methods and the importance of serendipity to my work. After a brief, initial shoot Model Katrin Dohse and I wandered over to a nearby warehouse with empty semi-trailers out front. The trailers were our destination, but serendipity struck when we noticed that the warehouse was empty of people and had its largest dock door wide open. The cavernous warehouse held piles of bundled, used paper. I found them attractive for the textures they offered and the soft indirect light from the dock doors and skylights.
Christopher Paul Brown identifies as an alchemist. He also sees himself as a primitive hunter-gatherer rather than a modern urban agrarian. Relying on serendipity and synchronicity in lieu of elaborate planning, he seeks to uncover the unconscious and dimensions beyond the familiar three. Brown’s career has also spanned experimental music and video. He completed a BA in Film in 1980 and his first solo photography show exhibited in 1985. He describes his approach as Radical Play and he employs polar opposites such as intent/openness and obscure/reveal to allow paradox and alchemy.
