Artist Statement
Written in 2020
This body of work is an exploration of the duality of absence and presence. Taking my biggest source of inspiration from the loss of 3 of my grandparents in the last 2 years, my goal is to explore what is and isn’t present in the wake of absence in a generalized and open view of loss. When something is lost, there is always residual evidence of what once was, whether it be memories, feelings, or physical objects which hold individual meaning. The main components of my body of work are personal photographs - however, the techniques and concepts I employ leave the viewer an opportunity to interpret the pieces in relation to their own experiences of absence.
Inspired by both historic and modern artists, I am combining the touch of traditional art mediums with a modern photoshop application. By removing my work from the confines of one medium, I am able to express the same idea in different ways. In addition to manipulating, removing, or relocating the figure itself within the photographs, I am using multiple physical mediums and methods to alter the photograph further. Using these techniques, I am able to hide the identity of the subject to allow the viewer to react to each piece through the lens of their own memories and experiences.
I was drawn to the combination of traditional and modern media in my pieces because of the powerful effect of merging two worlds - traditional and digital art - into one. This combination allows me to preserve the unique feelings of meaning and emotion hidden in an old photograph while also being able to manipulate each image to make it a universal symbol of my idea.
This body of work is an exploration of the duality of absence and presence. Taking my biggest source of inspiration from the loss of 3 of my grandparents in the last 2 years, my goal is to explore what is and isn’t present in the wake of absence in a generalized and open view of loss. When something is lost, there is always residual evidence of what once was, whether it be memories, feelings, or physical objects which hold individual meaning. The main components of my body of work are personal photographs - however, the techniques and concepts I employ leave the viewer an opportunity to interpret the pieces in relation to their own experiences of absence.
Inspired by both historic and modern artists, I am combining the touch of traditional art mediums with a modern photoshop application. By removing my work from the confines of one medium, I am able to express the same idea in different ways. In addition to manipulating, removing, or relocating the figure itself within the photographs, I am using multiple physical mediums and methods to alter the photograph further. Using these techniques, I am able to hide the identity of the subject to allow the viewer to react to each piece through the lens of their own memories and experiences.
I was drawn to the combination of traditional and modern media in my pieces because of the powerful effect of merging two worlds - traditional and digital art - into one. This combination allows me to preserve the unique feelings of meaning and emotion hidden in an old photograph while also being able to manipulate each image to make it a universal symbol of my idea.