Fractal State of Being

Nominated for the The Paris Photo-Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards 2014 for the prize First Photobook.

Reproduced from the artist’s sketchbook, Fractal State of Being braids photography and drawing into an intimate look at process. Inside a black journal cover, Teigen’s line drawings of organic, repetitive forms frame and spiral outward from enigmatic photographs of aquatic plants, abstract color studies, and nudes entangled in wet or windblown hair. Slightly dirty masking tape appears to hold scraps and prints in place on the uncoated paper; spot varnish highlights some images for a glossy, developed-at-the-drugstore look. The result feels both intricate and improvised. “There isn’t really a narrative in this,” says Todd Hido. “It almost doesn’t matter where you dive in. I like its quality of unfinishedness and exploration”.