Sonic Sunlight
Sasha vom Dorp

Sasha Raphael vom Dorp has been exhibiting his work since 1992. A practice that began with painting in oils has evolved into creating kinetic sculpture, photography and interactive multimedia installations. His current work employs a bespoke machine that he’s created allowing him see sound waves as they interact with sunlight and matter. His work has been featured on PBS and published in the NY Times. Having lived in Sweden, Mexico, Taiwan, the Philippines and Los Angeles, he’s returned home to Taos where he works and lives with his wife and four children.

Sasha vom Dorp made these photographs to better know his place in the universe. Our ability to travel the cosmos being limited, he built a machine in an attempt to observe elemental transactions. He created a mechanical solution to what is a metaphysical problem, forcing basic elements of perception – sound, light, and matter – into a single frame. These are photographs of sound encountering sunlight as seen through the medium of water. On one hand, he staged common phenomena and on the other hand he captured tiny cataclysms never to be repeated. Vom Dorp brings you evidence of a minute history, in which no instance is petty and every instant too complex to perceive in its entirety. A moment is all time, an atom the universe. These photographs aim to capture the beauty and turmoil that occurs inside the most pedestrian events. Sunlight bounces on water, sound waves march toward oblivion.