Primordial Energy by Dana Marshall at the Naarden OFF Festival in Naarden 

Published on 16 May 2007 in the Gooi en Eemlander newspaper  

Life force. An essence that is almost impossible to capture, yet photographer Dana Marshall does this with her exhibition 'Duende'.  The title of the exhibition is translated from the Spanish, it means Primordial Energy.

During the Naarden Festival  OFF (a photo festival that runs concurrently with  the Naarden Photo Festival and is open to all photographers, both professional and amateur), her earthy and alive images can be seen at Wachthuis Q Gallery from Floris Siemer in Naarden. The photos radiate peace, beauty and above all power.

Marshall has been working as a professional photographer for twenty two years. Recently in her work, Dana has been combining painting and photography by placing the things she photographs into handmade backgrounds. This combination allows the objects to come to life. The illusion of a painting combined with the reality of a photo is what makes a work complete according to Marshall.  This combined action takes a lot of time. "It is not made one, two, three", says Marshall, "I spend as much time and energy creating a photo, as a painter would spend creating a painting."

Her whole photo collection is inspired by this word, Duende. The marbles, objects used in a previous series have been replaced by natural objects: a flower bulb that is ready to pop, a ripe pomegranate, and a blooming flower. She captures these "alive" objects against a painted background.

The roots of the bulb combined with a dead flower display the life cycle. The flower bud that emerges symbolises new life. "I found myself being attracted to objects that had a sense of life force; as if there is something within each object and person that must be born in order to realize its inherent nature.”

The photos that the artist makes with a 4 x 5 inch field camera are not meant for her alone. "Otherwise I would not have such a strong desire to exhibit this work." She uses her photographs to communicate this life force. "I hope that people will resonate with these images. It is not only the life force within the objects that I want to capture but also I wish to evoke a sense of life force within the people who are viewing the work". Marshall finds it important that in a world that is marked by speed and aggression that people be reminded of their fundamental goodness.

Originally from America she is well known by the Photo Festival. Twelve years ago she participated in the Naarden Photo Festival that simultaneously began with the Festival OFF. The coordinator of Naarden OFF, Erik-Jan Geniets, says that young photographers use the OFF Festival as a stepping stone into the Naarden Photo Festival. "There is a certain amount of cross fertilization happening", he said laughing.

This is not the case in Marshall's situation since she already participated in the Photo Festival. It is a coincidence that she is showing in Wachthuis Q. " I invited Floris Siemer to my previous exhibition", Dana stated. "The combination of painting and photography appealed to him so he invited me to participate in the Festival OFF and made his gallery available.''

Marshall finds the gallery space from Siemer in Naarden Vesting very special.  It was a storage space for canons in a fortress of a medieval city surrounded by water.  It has a very earthy feeling that goes well with her photographs. "It is a place with a lot of history and character''.

Natalja Elings
Festival OFF, May 17 – June 10th. The opening times of the exhibition spaces vary. For more information go to http://www.festival-off.nl/ . Dana Marshall will be having a reception on Sunday May 27th from 2 until 5 pm in Wachthuis Q.