Phase In My Journey, Artists Statement - Walter Borchenko

For over 20 years, my work has been dedicated to a black and white Modernist aesthetic, a visual language that has shaped the history of photography. Inspired by the legendary works of Man Ray, Margaret Bourke-White, Irving Penn, Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, and Berenice Abbott, I set out to create images that carried the same depth, weight, and clarity. However, no process I used could fully achieve the right richness, precision or consistency.

Decades of exploration led me to refine my ability to find subjects that resonated with Modernism, yet the look remained elusive. That changed in 2004 when I tested a new capture technology while photographing the streets of Calgary. With those images, I saw the first glimmer of the aesthetic I had been searching for. It was rough, but it was there. More importantly, I had found a repeatable Style—an approach that functioned much like shooting film, providing a creative anchor that I have relied on ever since.

Avoiding post-processing, I sharpened my sensitivity to light, exposure, camera technique, and tools such as filters to refine the aesthetic in-camera. Over the next 15 years, as digital technology advanced, so did the ability to fully realize my vision. What began as an effort to recreate a historical aesthetic evolved into something more: a continuation of Modernism, shaped by contemporary tools.

A pivotal moment came between 2018 and 2019, when breakthroughs allowed me to revisit my early images. Suddenly, those rough early captures were transformed, revealing nuances and depth beyond my expectations. This transformation has made a 20-year retrospective possible—a testament to the endurance of Modernism and its ability to adapt to the tools of today.

My work is not a replication of the past, but a progression—an ongoing dialogue between Modernist principles and digital technology. It is proof that the essence of Modernism is not confined to a specific time or medium, but rather, it is a way of seeing, interpreting, and refining the world through the lens of photography in a celebration of black and white.

April 2025