ivan forde

Seascape With The Fabulous Plant Of Rejuvenation In The Abzu. 2021

Cyanotype Mural. 18 feet x 90 feet.

The literary motif of the magical plant from the ancient Mesopotamian epic poem Gilgamesh/He Who Saw The Deep, guided my creative approach in designing the first mural at this scale derived from a cyanotype. My research embraced knowledge systems that amplify symbiotic relationships to nature, ranging from conversations with my father about medicinal plants, to the legacy of the Rockaways’ indigenous Lenape people and the local ecology. I carefully placed collected objects such as translucent sea glass and old nails, alongside coastal flowering plants and photographic negatives of marine life, onto paper coated with a light sensitive chemistry. This method is called a photogram, and it allows me to compose imagery by hand with sunlight. Extended exposures create deeper ultramarine tones, while shorter lengths of time generate lighter blues. Working with the cyanotype process changes my relationship to the world around me. My body and ordinary objects in my surroundings are relocated to intensely imaginative scenes from classical poetry. My artistic practice unites a combination of costume making, printmaking, performative self-portraits in the studio, painting and collage. This seascape mural reflects on the Rockaways as a site of rejuvenation for NYC after the storm of the pandemic.

- Ivan Forde Installation images courtesy ©Jorge Marron. 2021

Commissioned by Baxter Street Camera Club of New York. On public view at The Rockaway Hotel. Read the Wave’s newspaper article on Forde’s monumental cyanotype, the first is kind at this scale, in his home town New York City here. Read the supplementary ekphrastic poem written by the artist below.

The Fabulous Plant of Rejuvenation

Origin of all life, our ocean is a unique realm in the known universe. Eldest of Earth’s features, its force molds territories; its depth holds more mysteries than outer space, and it has inspired wild imaginings in art across cultures and time. My mural asks; what meaning(s) might the sea hold for us right now?

Below the thunderous flux of Aquamarine waves,

Far, far beneath perpetually dark

Sapphire Trenches

Hidden away diaphanous

Deep in the primeval ocean

Glistening in an aquatic garden

Firmly rooted looms this fabled plant.

Lapis lazuli blossoms linked on a lofty stem

Shimmering shades of indigo leaves

Oozing majestic gold sap,

Expressing its miraculous healing properties,

Yielding longevity and renewed youth to 

Generations before the flood,

Tended to by antediluvian sages.

Primary flower among terrestrials

Long extinct relic of memory, 

Flanked by the sacred Aloe,

Revered succulent of immortality by queens

Of Egypt olde.

Its submarine turf once disclosed by 

The ark builder Utnapishtim to a 

Heavy-hearted diver on his journey

Back home across the sea,

Resurfacing from an unfathomable depth

On the back of a seabird

Alight on the bow of his ship,

Hovering still under celestial lunettes.

ILF 2021.

All images of the artist working at Powerhouse printshop courtesy ©Kwesi Mark. 2019.

Columbia University Zuckerman Neuroscience Institute Education Laboratory.

Now on view to the public permanently in the lobby.

The large silkscreen paintings were created with neuroscientists to generate deep images of the artists body. Using an electromagnetic microscope to render his hair follicles the artist created a complex pattern held by the simple gesture of the hand. Ivan was also placed an MRI scanning his brain as he played a facial recognition game in addition to visual games that tracked his peripheral vision. The artist took note of the key emotional and visual aspects of his experiences over 8 months in collaboration with neuroscientists, channeling them through small drawings enlarged by silkscreen. The colors shift and motifs appear and disappear as viewers walk by on the street viewing the panels installed on the ground floor of the Renzo Piano building. The public commission aims to draw attention and create a bride between Harlem community members and the work being done by young neuroscientists in the education lab.

Public Art Fund: Art on the Grid

After the Storm. 2020 is a newly commissioned work made during my time quarantining in NYC featured in ART ON THE GRID, an public exhibition conceived in the spring of 2020 in direct response to the Covid-19 global pandemic, and the sharpened focus on systemic racism and injustice. Totaling 50 New York based artists (including my contribution featured on the left) The group created new work that reflects on their experiences from longing, loss, isolation, healing, intimacy, connection, and a revitalized sense of community. These works are on view through the 5 boroughs of New York City on JCDecaux outdoor bus shelters and Link NYC digital kiosk networks.

Learn more On PUBLIC ART FUND page

New Yorker photo commission.

Among the recently awarded American Photography 36 Winners, 2021! Learn More.

Commissioned portrait of the Illustrious Blacks featured in the NEW YORKER magazine

“Goings on about town” page. Jan 2020.