Messing around with the rules, Leanne Eisen plays her scanner’s limitations to the advantage of her work.

Back in the days when procedural arts were all the hype, there was a certain gloom surrounding the author mythos and its imminent death. With algorithms taking the place of the artisan and the users adding the untamed spark to an, otherwise, self-produced oeuvre, the authors seemed displaced to the spot of mere participants or prophets of the machine. Luckily, the trend was just another trend and, as such, turned out to be yet another element to consider when pondering around art.

Leanne’s scanning experiments play with these ideas. Her works are the testimony of her own crime: playing with moving objects around a scanner, she displays the distorted images that result from these pseudo-accidents. The tyrant masterful hand that crafted her previous series of dioramas (little, neurotically perfect worlds, on their own right), now recedes into the experimental unpredictiveness of her new method. There is still an author and a machine, but none of them can create her works without the other.

The results are marvelous series of moiré patterned stains, still images of moving CDs, plastic, paper or her own hair. Introducing an intentional glitch on working replicating machine, she reintroduces chaos and surprise into the pictures. Bold turn, but those who played the original Pokémon know better.



What drove you towards experimenting with a scanner?

My day job is a predominantly mechanical duty. At work, I am digitizing a massive photography collection. Once, I accidentally scanned my gloved hand, and was very interested by the moiré patterns that appeared, so I began to experiment with the medium.

What are you using for the scans?

I have made a progression through a library of scannable curios. Generally I find an object with an interesting combination of surface characteristics and then scan it until I have exhausted what is possible. I started with scans of my face, and then moved on to gloves, then paper with grids, scales, and different patterns. I have been told repeatedly, that my scans of paper were the most boring in the series. Regardless of this, the production of these images was necessary for me to gain a better understanding of the limitations of the process. I learned how to exploit these limitations to my own end. Most recently I've been scanning CDs and DVDs; thus using a digital storage medium in the process of digitization.

Why the interest in moiré patterns?

Yes. Moiré patterns are interesting because they are dynamic and at times difficult to predict. They can only be produced by chance, and trial and error. Each represents a span of time, and a choreographed movement over the scanner bed. In this way, it feels similar to experimenting working in a dark room -- burning and dodging.  Making images right on the surface of the medium feels almost like making photograms.

Continuing with the scans, your works are quite abstract but they all have pretty figurative names (manatee, cloud, etc). Do you find these shapes in your work or is it more of a random or conceptual process?

Since my previous work has been mostly figurative, and conceptually / content driven, it was difficult for me to make the transition to the abstract. My naming convention relates to my own need to grasp for content within the images.

Are you interested in any other replicating media (such as mirrors, cassettes, etc?)

I wasn't really interested in replication media until I started working with these images, and taking an experimental approach to making work. I am definitely interested in pursuing other media with this new work method.

What artists do you hold as your biggest inspiration?

It's impossible to ignore the thousands of images that surround me on a daily basis. They pull me in different directions simultaneously. In my creative work, however, I prefer to take my inspiration from first-hand experiences.

We've been going through your blog and there was an amazing picture of you with green hair. What were you up to in those days?

Growing up in a small rural community, I found nothing more appealing or accessible than sitting in parking lots, smoking cigarettes, and contemplating my next hair color. In my defense, I hadn't yet found photography.



What are your plans for the future?

I am going to keep exploring my curiosities in whichever medium works best. I have a list of prospective projects as long as my arm, and the list is growing. As long as I can continue to pursue that list, I am all set.

Text by Oscar Gomez Poviña @ VNFOLD