In order to support Carrie Schneider’s monumental installation for the 61st Venice Biennial, we had to invent a whole new set of apparatus to handle, process, and install a 1km photograph in the Arsenale. The work started with an uncut Jumbo Roll from FujiFilm, over 2 miles long and 63” tall, that weighed over 2000lbs. To move the material, and process it in Carrie’s studio sized camera, I designed a spinning turntable that could support and allow it to be easily repositioned. I also designed two uptake reels using a modular extruded aluminum frame to hold the photographic paper after exposure, transport it internationally, and process through an Autopan processor at Foto Leutner in Austria.

Once the processing was complete, I worked with Carried to design a modular, movable armature to install the work in Venice, developing a steel support structure that could be installed on the ground, and then raised up to installation height using a series of pulleys. We worked iteratively to develop a layout that embraced the architecture of the Arsenale, and let the plaited rolls of photographic image unspool into the space.

Image Credits:

Carrie Schneider, First Living Woman, 2026. Single unique chromogenic photograph made in-camera, steel, rare earth magnets. Full paper dimensions: 145 cm x 100,000 cm (1 km). The 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia — In Minor Keys by Koyo Kouoh. Location: Arsenale (Room 41). Courtesy the artist and David Peter Francis, New York

Press:

Aperture

The Guardian