Cole Erickson and Swan Ferraro - January 2025

Momentary Fields is a photography exhibition by Cole Erickson and Swan Ferraro. The show consists of images from various places and various meaningful moments in our lives. A field is a region of space in which a given effect exists, such as a magnetic field, a gravitational field, or a field of vision. To take a photograph is to experience the effects of a particular field of vision and feel pulled and compelled to this experience by deliberately catching a particular part of it and holding it still for a brief moment. Both of our work with analog photography seeks to explore and provoke curiosity surrounding our field of vision: what we choose to hold, and how we choose to hold it. We explore this relationship both physically and temporally. Most importantly, we intimately recognize that although we are taking these photographs, we are also being taken by them, pulled by them. In our journey with our cameras, we ask ourselves: what is taking us & what is pulling us?

Cole Erickson currently lives in the Marquette neighborhood here in Madison, WI. Cole grew up in rural Southeastern Minnesota, studied Anthropology in San Antonio and lived in Portland, Oregon for 4 years where he bought his first film camera. He later circled back to his family in Rochester, Minnesota before moving to Madison in the summer of 2023. He has felt immense gratitude for being able to call the isthmus his home for the last year and a half. Since moving to Madison, he’s stayed loyal to shooting strictly Black & White film on his Pentax Spotmatic camera.

Swan Ferraro is an interdisciplinary artist working in installation, photo/video, and poetry. They have a BFA in photography from UW-Eau Claire and are working on their MFA in 4D Art at UW-Madison. They went through a phase in undergrad where they hated photography, but years later, film photography reignited their love for the medium. Swan shoots on a Canon Rebel G camera that was gifted to their parents on their wedding night. Lately they've been shooting on Cole's mom's Canon point & shoot.