Limbo, is an ongoing series of cyanotype prints of blemished, irregular, and withered plants and leaves, inspired by the experience of sudden and irreversible change.  The humble plants and leaves I photograph are characters existing in ambiguous time and space, that interact with each other and respond to forces beyond their controlI use photographic processes such as motion blur and digital compositing to continue the transformation started by time, weather, and insects. Within each composition are juxtapositions intended to represent the precarious balance between opposing states of being and the attempt to achieve equilibrium. 

 

The subject matter and cyanotype technique I use refer to the tradition of botanical prints dating back to Anna Atkin's work of 1843.  My work diverges from traditional uses of the medium in several ways.  Rather than representing ideal plant specimens for their scientific or aesthetic value I select my subject matter for their imperfections.  Instead of pressing plant material flat against the paper to produce a photogram, I photograph still life arrangements that represent spatial relationships, time, and impermanence.   Those images become digital negatives for making 15"x20" contact prints on hand coated paper that enable me to enlarge the plants and leaves several times larger than life size. I create these images to reckon with transience and loss, and to recognize and accept the fear and allure of transformation.


Peculiar Symbiosis, 2016 - 2019

This series of photomontages in diptych form explore the manipulation and transformation of art historical facts into photographic fiction.  I am interested in challenging the traditional masculine gaze of the old master paintings I photograph by dissecting the paintings into small parts and liberating the pieces from their original context.  The photographic artifacts can then be re-interpreted, distorted and manipulated to produce alternative narratives.

I use the diptych format to explore the shifting nature of memory and how interpretation of information is altered by gender, context and time.  The diptych as a whole offers a narrative that questions and subverts the facts of the original image, while each part a tells a different version of that newly constructed narrative.

I construct my photomontages so they that initially appear to be historic paintings and provoke the viewer to question the medium and veracity of the image.  My intention is to create an image that wavers between dualities: painting and photograph, part and whole, reality and fiction, past and present, male and female. Within the open-ended narratives of the pseudo historic images, I hope the viewer recognizes contemporary themes about conflict, anxiety, and identity.

Seductive Deception, 2015 – 2017

As an art history major in college, I studied master works and learned how each one contributed to the visual narrative of a particular style, time period, religion, or culture. I learned that iconic works of art were unique and priceless, to be guarded and venerated like sacred truths. Now I approach those same paintings as a curious photographer, questioning and dissecting them with each exposure. The fractured pieces are manipulated and transformed into a remix. The novelty and drama of the remix is seductive and deceptive.

The pictures I take of old master paintings represent selected facts. The camera frame isolates and fragments, removing parts from their original context. The photographs now liberated from the original artworks are like memories subject to interpretation, distortion and manipulation. Elements from various paintings are woven into constructed narratives inspired by experiences, dreams, fears and fantasies. The surrealistic tableaux question and subvert the facts of the original images. My intention is to create an image that wavers between dualities: painting and photograph, reality and fiction, past and present, true and false.

The 15”x20” archival pigment prints are mounted on hardboard and covered with layers of encaustic medium that creates a rich, luminous, and irregular surface. The wax and mounting technique provides the digitally manipulated photographs with a tactile and physical presence that evokes the historic artwork that inspired them.

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Artist Statement

Limbo, is an ongoing series of cyanotype prints of blemished, irregular, and withered plants and leaves, inspired by the experience of sudden and irreversible change.  The humble plants and leaves I photograph are characters existing in ambiguous time and space, that interact with each other and respond to forces beyond their controlI use photographic processes such as motion blur and digital compositing to continue the transformation started by time, weather, and insects. Within each composition are juxtapositions intended to represent the precarious balance between opposing states of being and the attempt to achieve equilibrium. 

 

The subject matter and cyanotype technique I use refer to the tradition of botanical prints dating back to Anna Atkin's work of 1843.  My work diverges from traditional uses of the medium in several ways.  Rather than representing ideal plant specimens for their scientific or aesthetic value I select my subject matter for their imperfections.  Instead of pressing plant material flat against the paper to produce a photogram, I photograph still life arrangements that represent spatial relationships, time, and impermanence.   Those images become digital negatives for making 15"x20" contact prints on hand coated paper that enable me to enlarge the plants and leaves several times larger than life size. I create these images to reckon with transience and loss, and to recognize and accept the fear and allure of transformation.


Peculiar Symbiosis, 2016 - 2019

This series of photomontages in diptych form explore the manipulation and transformation of art historical facts into photographic fiction.  I am interested in challenging the traditional masculine gaze of the old master paintings I photograph by dissecting the paintings into small parts and liberating the pieces from their original context.  The photographic artifacts can then be re-interpreted, distorted and manipulated to produce alternative narratives.

I use the diptych format to explore the shifting nature of memory and how interpretation of information is altered by gender, context and time.  The diptych as a whole offers a narrative that questions and subverts the facts of the original image, while each part a tells a different version of that newly constructed narrative.

I construct my photomontages so they that initially appear to be historic paintings and provoke the viewer to question the medium and veracity of the image.  My intention is to create an image that wavers between dualities: painting and photograph, part and whole, reality and fiction, past and present, male and female. Within the open-ended narratives of the pseudo historic images, I hope the viewer recognizes contemporary themes about conflict, anxiety, and identity.

Seductive Deception, 2015 – 2017

As an art history major in college, I studied master works and learned how each one contributed to the visual narrative of a particular style, time period, religion, or culture. I learned that iconic works of art were unique and priceless, to be guarded and venerated like sacred truths. Now I approach those same paintings as a curious photographer, questioning and dissecting them with each exposure. The fractured pieces are manipulated and transformed into a remix. The novelty and drama of the remix is seductive and deceptive.

The pictures I take of old master paintings represent selected facts. The camera frame isolates and fragments, removing parts from their original context. The photographs now liberated from the original artworks are like memories subject to interpretation, distortion and manipulation. Elements from various paintings are woven into constructed narratives inspired by experiences, dreams, fears and fantasies. The surrealistic tableaux question and subvert the facts of the original images. My intention is to create an image that wavers between dualities: painting and photograph, reality and fiction, past and present, true and false.

The 15”x20” archival pigment prints are mounted on hardboard and covered with layers of encaustic medium that creates a rich, luminous, and irregular surface. The wax and mounting technique provides the digitally manipulated photographs with a tactile and physical presence that evokes the historic artwork that inspired them.

BLOG SECTIONS