Artwork
Fold II
Fold II is a print by Prudence Ainslie. It dates from 2015 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
She shot winter scenes in Iceland, then refolded the prints into shapes that cast new shadows.
This print, *Fold II*, was made by Prudence Ainslie in 2015. It’s a digital print born from layered photos and clear film folds. She shot winter scenes in Iceland, then refolded the prints into shapes that cast new shadows.
The trick here? She re-photographed those folded sheets to mix the original view with the shadow it threw. One object, two moments in light.
Check out more of Prudence Ainslie’s Iceland work.
Overview
Fold II (2015) is a digital print by Prudence Ainslie that emerges from a multi-stage photographic process involving physical manipulation of printed material. Created during a residency in Iceland, the work layers captured landscapes with sculptural interventions, resulting in an image that blurs the boundary between photography and object. The final piece retains traces of both the original scene and the altered form it became.
Subject & Meaning
The work engages with the act of perception, questioning how environments are mediated through the camera and physical transformation. By folding printed images into three-dimensional forms and re-photographing them under the same winter light, Ainslie emphasizes the instability of visual representation. The resulting image becomes a record of both place and process, suggesting that seeing is never direct but always filtered through material and temporal layers.
Technique & Style
Ainslie began by photographing Icelandic landscapes in low winter light, then printed selected frames onto transparent film and physically folded them. These folded forms were re-photographed, capturing both the altered object and its shadow. The final print combines an archival digital image with a woodcut element that precisely matches the shadow’s outline. The woodcut’s matte opacity contrasts with the photograph’s luminosity, creating a tension between flatness and depth.
History & Provenance
Fold II is part of a series developed during Ainslie’s time in Iceland in 2015, where she explored the interplay between landscape and material transformation. The work was produced as part of an extended investigation into photographic representation, following earlier experiments with layered prints and physical folding. It has since been included in exhibitions focusing on contemporary printmaking and photographic abstraction.
Context
Ainslie’s practice aligns with broader contemporary interests in the materiality of photography and the deconstruction of image-making. Her use of transparency, shadow, and physical intervention echoes concerns found in the work of artists like Barbara Kasten and Susan Hiller, who interrogate how media shape perception. The Icelandic setting, with its extreme seasonal light, provides a natural laboratory for examining how environment influences visual experience.
Legacy
Fold II contributes to an evolving dialogue around photography’s capacity to transcend its two-dimensional limits. By embedding physical transformation within the photographic chain, Ainslie expands the definition of the print as both record and artifact. The work invites viewers to consider the labor and time embedded in image production, positioning photography not as a window but as a layered, mutable surface.
Artist & collection
Artist
Prudence Ainslie’s prints fold paper shapes into quiet, balanced compositions. In *Fold II* (2015) she layers crisp edges and soft shadows across a single sheet, turning creases into deliberate rhythms. Her work belongs…
