Steel Wool Light Paintings: ‘Light Rorschach’ by Nicolas Rivals

In the early 1900’s, a Swiss psychiatrist introduced a test he administered to his mentally ill patients which analyzed their perception of the symmetry of symmetrical blots of ink to diagnose mental disorders. The Rorschach Test, named after the psychiatrist, has been widely used ever since.

Now, photographer Nicolas Rivals, paints with light by burning steel wool, using a long exposure and water to reflect the image to make Rorschach images of his own. His images almost seem to come from a scifi movie, with soul-less eyes peering at you from behind a dark backdrop. At least, that’s what I see.

[REWIND: Steel Wool Light Painting – DIYPhotography.net]

Rivals likens the images to masks that reflect some of the observer’s personality, an introspection of sorts. To him, the masks seems to shout, “Tell me what you see and I’ll tell you who you are!”

What do you see when you look at Nicolas Rivals images? And what does that say about you?

All photographs by Nicolas Rivals are copyrighted and have been used with permission for SLR Lounge. Do not copy, modify or re-post this article or images without express permission from SLR Lounge and the artist.