Quilt

Cyanotype, and Gum Bichromate on fabric, 25 x 37", 2026

Enilda Torres

My work explores how a photograph can exist as more than a flat image by transforming it into a physical object. I am interested in how photographs hold memory and how that memory can shift over time. Memories are not always complete or stable; they are shaped, fragmented, and reconstructed over time. Through my work, I explore this idea by breaking images apart and reassembling them into new forms.

This piece is based on a photograph I took during a mental health awareness trip to Peru. The purpose of the trip was to learn about the culture while also taking time for personal reflection and growth. Each day, we were given questions that encouraged us to slow down and think deeply about our habits, emotions, and sense of self. The image I chose comes from the side of a mountain at Machu Picchu, a place that felt both grounding and overwhelming. It holds both a physical memory of where I was and an emotional memory of what I was learning during that time.

To create this work, I combine digital photography with the historical alternative processes: cyanotype and gum bichromate. The original image is divided into multiple sections and printed onto fabric in separate parts. Each piece is exposed at different times-the gum bichromate process requires multiple days to build layered color. These variations create subtle shifts across the image, allowing the photograph to change as it is reconstructed.

The final work is assembled into a 25 x 37-inch quilt, turning the photograph into something that can be held and experienced physically. From a distance, the image appears whole, but up close, the seams and differences between each section become visible.

By breaking apart and rebuilding the image, I reflect how memory is formed over time. The work becomes both an image and an object, holding traces of place, process, and personal experience.