DJ Diaz Artist Talk
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Abstract

Artist talk by DJ Diaz

Description

Artist Statement

My research is about the rituals of ancient cults. Particularly the Eleusinian cult in ancient Greece.

I am interested in this subject because my creative process itself is ritualistic.

I have a strict set of steps that I go through as I complete my art work.

I spend time preparing myself emotionally and spiritually before I enter the studio.

The Eleusinian cultists believed that the body was a prison and that it’s only purpose was to serve as the sight of spiritual transformation.

This is why all any images begin with the figure.

The cultists also believed that the path to a higher consciousness is reached through ecstatic experiences such as: copious amounts of intercourse, pain as pleasure, and chemically altered states of consciousness.

The metaphors for these experiences within my work are the various destructive processes I use to corrupt my original analog negatives.

Solarization interrupts the development process and exposes the print to more light to desensitize the silver crystals in the photo paper.

Brulage requires a hot plate to melt the negatives, causing a bubbling and image bending abstraction.

Cliché verre is the process of painting on a plate to create a negative plate. This process works like a photogram.

The sacred rites of the cults were performed in a temple which to this day is shrouded in a dark mystery.

Photography is the alchemy fine arts, and the dark room is my temple.

Department

Art

Date

Spring 2026

Disciplines

Art and Design

DJ Diaz Artist Talk

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