Analog black and white photography series – 5×4″ sheet film, Cambo large format camera

Phaethon, Dangerous Relations is a fine art analog photography series created during my time at the Academy of Fine Arts. Shot on 5×4″ sheet film with a Cambo large format camera, the work explores mythology, transformation, and self-reflection through abstract black and white imagery.

Inspired by the Greek myth of Phaethon, the son of Helios, who fell after attempting to drive the sun chariot, the series reimagines his story through hybrid forms of birds and fish. These creatures exchange their natural features — birds covered in scales, fish with feathers — symbolizing the tension between aspiration and downfall, ambition and failure.

Each composition is divided rather than symmetrical, suggesting a fractured mirror that separates reality from reflection. This visual division mirrors the human struggle to see oneself clearly, confronting the dualities of dream and consequence, rise and fall.

By working with large format analog photography, I aimed to translate myth into tangible texture and tone, emphasizing the slow, meditative process of creation. Phaethon, Dangerous Relations stands at the intersection of myth-inspired conceptual art and black and white fine art photography, inviting viewers to reflect on transformation, fragility, and the boundaries of human desire.