My work is created in the studio using rocks and flagstones. The flagstones are cut into shapes, chiseled and sanded, and all of the stones are painted to remove color variations that become distracting in the final print.. The light source is one light bulb shining through a white sheet which is stretched over a wooden frame, much like a large soft box.

The photographs are all made with a 4x5 camera and there is no darkroom trickery used in making the images. The photographs with reflections are created by placing the stones in a large tray of water. The idea to build my subjects grew out of a difficulty in finding things to photograph that look and feel like what I see in my mind. What has motivated me over the last 47 years to create this work is a belief that there are new dimensions and harmonies to be found within the formal visual language.

I hope that my work evokes in the viewer the same feeling that we all have when we are moved by the harmony and balance of nature, or when we look up at the night sky and are filled with awe and unanswerable questions. I have always believed that while we are a part of all of this, ultimately it is not about us. Whether in art or in the world around us, these things that move us remain a mystery. My work is an attempt to understand and unravel some of these mysteries. Sometimes I feel that I’m getting closer and other times I feel it is all so far away, but either way the journey continues.

Nick Johnson