When REESE reached out to collaborate on a shoot for Soft Debris, my clothing brand and newest project, it was an immediate yes. The energy of her photos, pulled from both 35mm and VHS video stills, capture the decade-less feeling I want for the brand, which references a handful of favorites pulled from my archives: everything from warped old desktop wallpapers to prehistoric symbols.
Soft Debris is technically very new (we launched last October), but if you were to tug it out of the ground and examine the roots, it has existed in one form or another for a long time. The project — so far simple digital and physical prints as well as hand-applied dyes and distressing — is focused on representing the images in my head, but physically, on the human body. Right now, I’m fascinated by a visual idea that I’ve been calling “techno-tarot”; the name came from something my friend and collaborator Juliyen said during a meeting. Techno-tarot is the primitive meeting the digital, the idea of applying ancient systems of iconography to create new symbols and semiotics. Early internet computer wallpapers, glowing orbs, bleached spirals, rough SVGs, AI-generated land art, logo variations, angel numbers in Times New Roman and more bleed together in this past-future, new-old assemblage that occupies the inside of my brain.