Nicotine takes the form of a strange and eccentric family album. Its cover is bound in a luxurious tobacco-colored, suede-like cloth that evokes the drapery of interiors from another time. It is a physical memorial that captures the fading essence of a life once lived. With echoes of a nineteenth-century scientific catalog, each of the twenty-six images are individually tipped on the book's pages, referencing the meticulous attention given to a family scrapbook.
The process of burning these images into existence using the same chemicals that contributed to his mother’s deteriorating health transforms the book into a sacred vessel invoking a seance, an altarpiece, and a ritualistic act of remembering. The tones of the nicotine-stained prints vary, reminding us that each print is an act of performance and a unique, physical record of time. Here the fugitive print qualities of photographs are inverted—rather than fade away, the image materializes, rising from the ashes to be remembered.
Printed in a limited edition of 500 copies, each book is hand-numbered, signed, and features a final personal touch—each is burned with a lit cigarette, making every book a singular tribute to the ephemerality of life.