Maunder Minimum (2008-2010) is the first series of photographs I made exploring the phenomenon of afterimages—the latent impressions that persist on the retina after looking at the sun or at bright objects in darkness. In collaboration with Everett Lawson, I developed a unique photographic device capable of capturing these fleeting, decaying traces formed from the remains of light.

To construct the initial image-making membrane, I had my retina mapped and used that information to fabricate artificial retinal surfaces from hydro-polymer materials embedded with differently pigmented particles of strontium aluminate. When light is focused onto the phosphorescent surface, the activated strontium crystals retain optical information that gradually shifts in color before being exposed onto color film.

The title of this early series, Maunder Minimum, refers to the historical period from 1645 to 1715, when sunspots became rare, marking a prolonged reduction in solar activity.