Scanography

This project gave new life to the scanner in my basement. I was excited to approach this project as I have spent considerable time researching scanography, its origins, and its methods, yet when it came time to consider what I wanted to do, I blanked. I spent a lot of time with my dad, experimenting with the scanner, figuring out which lighting works best to get the background color that I wanted, and trying different methods like "warping," "stretching," "compressing," and more, but I did not like the results it was giving me. 

I ultimately decided to scan the various objects that I collect. I enjoyed the process of scanning these objects and laying them out on my flatbed scanner in my pitch black room, bouncing ideas off of my sister, who assisted me with turning off the lights and organizing my objects. I affectionately gave her the nickname of "Igor" for the night, and she dutifully followed my directions of "lights, camera, action!" each time I was ready for a new scan. I enjoyed the collaborative aspect of having someone in the room with me, whether it was my father or my sister so that I was able to workshop ideas and concepts with them. This was the first of such projects that I have really leaned into the communal aspect of art making, while my projects in digital collage and sound were particularly solitary activities. 

Like my father, I am a collector of things. Each stage of my life, from childhood to adolescence, and now adulthood can be marked by an obsession and resulting collection of objects, trinkets, and toys. My two series of "Things" are below.


childish things

 

adultish things



honorable mentions








Comments

  1. JádéApril 1, 2026 at 4:59 PM

    Cheyenne

    Scanography

    I really love the contrast between your projects of childish things and adults things. I would be interested in seeing you explore more of these things in future and exploring different aspects of adulthood and childhood. The different struggles and joys of both stages of life.

    I could image one about embarrassing changes in your life, one about the exhausting things we have to deal with in adulthood. One about body image issues and it could be interesting to take the same issue and compare it across ages too.

    I also love the staging of the low depth of focus and dark background and bright light I think it’s really beautiful.

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  2. GigiApril 7, 2026 at 11:46 AM

    Cheyenne! I am absolutely in love with your scans of your collections! It’s very satisfying seeing everything organized and grouped together and the contrast between your childhood and adulthood collections is very interesting. Your work here reminds me of the Eye Spy books I used to love as a kid. I wonder what other collections you could contrast! Outside vs inside, summer vs winter, pop culture of the past vs the present. I especially like the scan where your objects are lined up next to each other in 2 rows of 3. It’s almost like a documentation of objects that one might put in an informational book. Maybe you could make your own book of scans!

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  3. Hayeong ChoiApril 7, 2026 at 12:31 PM

    Dear Cheyenne,
    When I saw that collection of Sony Angels, I could not resist clicking in. Reading about how the objects and collections are a form of time stamps gave me some insight into how the ‘things’ are more than their physical object but are more of the artist's obsession, the thoughts they have on them, the time they spent with them, and the relationship they have built with them. In a way, the childish and adultish things define the same concept, you and your relationships.
    Thank you for sharing the project.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jane April 7, 2026 at 2:40 PM

    These are so fascinating Cheyenne! I love the cute yet eerie nature of these images. I'm reminded of early 2000s video games, specifically when you select your character. The playfulness and variety in the compositions is really nice - I enjoy the juxtaposition between the grid-like composition and the more freeform, yet still intentional compositions. The cat figurines really capture a balance between "adultish" and "childish", blurring the boundaries between these categories. Great work!

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