This cameraless photograph illustrates the surface dynamics of a liquid-solid interface. The work “stops time” and allows the viewer to visually ingest the spreading coefficient.

Spreading is what happens when a liquid comes into contact with a solid. In this case I chose glass, a non-porous solid, to maximize spreading, but used an adhesive liquid! Adhesive forces will bind a substance to a surface. It acts as a surfactant with impurities that reduces the surface tension or the intermolecular force of attraction between adjacent molecules that keeps the fluid together at the interface.

A methyl benzene adhesive was applied between two silicon dioxide surfaces. The methyl benzene has a high viscosity, which is a measure of the resistance of the liquid to flow. This allowed me to coordinate the spreading speed with the darkroom exposure.

The print is made by treating the sandwich as a film alternative. I remove the negative carrier from an enlarger and substitute the work above the condenser. This creates a projection which I then expose onto the emulsion coated surface. The print is then reversed by paper negative transfer.

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Carol Pfeffer
Irvington, New York
2nd Prize ( Open Category )

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