Interlaken, Switzerland

Street Corner Shrines

In Florence, Italy there are many street corners, nooks, and ally ways that are adorned with shrines. These shrines are of many shapes and sizes, some are even located very high up on the sides of buildings. Typically these worship spots contain images of the crucifixation, the virgin and child, or Jesus among his disciples. Glass covers the image as a means of protection, and there is usually a spot to mount and light a candle, for a prayer. I found these sites meant for adoration to be very interesting, and yet they are typically overlooked. Old and worn, most of the images are fading away. The occasional newspaper stand situates itself in front one, and passer bys take almost no notice of these street corner shrines. They seem to transcend time; they still exist even when so many less take notice. These corner worship spots harken back to a different time when people used to worship in public, just walking down the street. By taking the time to look and photograph them, I able draw attention to these little visual gifts that people, long ago, embraced. 

Installed

My current work is meant to be viewed as an instillation. I approach every space different and each instillation varies. Each photograph recounts a memory that is chopped, blurred, layered, or partly missing. With all of the photographs grouped together, a story is suggested. The characters repeat, disappear, and even age. I mean for the instillation to be experienced, and through this experience the viewer is invited to think about the past, and perhaps question how they view the concept of memory.

Try To Remember

            Family photographs are valuable possessions yet they are usually stored away for safekeeping where they are forgotten. Over time memories begin to blend and overlap into elaborate chains. As a way to explore the past and reach an understanding of how memory changes and evolves I am referring to old family photographs and giving them a new meaning.

This post recounts the evolution of my senior thesis project.

            The search for things lost, forgotten, or out of reach has always been evident and important in my work. I am taking this “search” and focusing it on the creation, destruction and evolution of memory. Family photographs represent a moment of the past that can spark a memory, by overlapping and blending these photographs together they begin to mimic the fragmented quality of memory, thereby giving the old photographs a renewed meaning.

            

Struggling To Remember

In the process of growing up things get sorted and put in order. Life makes more sense and a deeper understanding of everything around you is a result of experience and the gain of knowledge. Growing up is unavoidable, as is coming to the realization that nothing is perfect and nothing can ever be the same. Looking at dreams and memories is a way for me to try to understand this notion. I suppose I am, in a way reverting, trying to hold on or re-discover the feelings I once had.  I am taking photographs in the present as a way to re-experience the past.

These photographs were created in 2007 and 2008 for a self-led project. My interest in dreams and memories prompted my investigation in fragmented subject matter. Using these simplified images I created diptychs. The two images are related by color and light, but not subject. The pairing relates to the odd way in which something ridiculous in a dream can somehow make sense to the dreamer. Memories often follow a similar rule, twisting and morphing as time passes.  These photographs attempt to make sense of the past, in the present

These Vagabond Shoes, are Longing to Stray