Photograph by Hulki Okan Tabak. Limited Edition of 1. Minted November 8, 2020. Exclusively on KnownOrigin.

Edwin McMasters Stanton was an American lawyer and politician who served as Secretary of War under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. He appears on a United States stamp collection from 1870 and I have started to build this piece from an actual physical copy of that stamp.

The historical figure relinquishes his occupied space to an assortment of abstract patches of bright colors. The presence is not immediately perceivable but yet there. Well camouflaged within the artwork, he gazes intently on us - visible to a chance encounter or to the prying eye.

This is the 2nd piece of a 5 artwork series that involves Edwin Stanton and George Washington from actual used 1870 stamps. The series consists of 4 digitally manipulated photographs and a video file. Various digital tools were used in creating the final images.