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Artist Statement
My photographs frequently explore the connection of the past to the present, and the relationship of people to their environment. Personal identity and cultural history are often attached to a sense of place, and this can have a strong influence over the texture and stories of our life. I am very interested in the experience of family and cultural history ... the need for a story that ties us to a larger meaning, and the extent to which we either inherit larger stories or attempt to create newer ones.
"The Farm"
‘The Farm’ series was photographed in Kansas over the past decade, on the family farm. The land has been in the family for many generations and much of the family's roots, identity, and stories are tied to this particular plot of earth. This project is about place and history, about memory and story. It's about the things that tie us together, and the things that bring us back. The images are presented as traditional silver gelatin prints, printed rather small, in dark tones, and the final prints are tea-stained to mute the palette further. The resulting effect creates a thin veil between the viewer and the print, so the interaction with the subject matter is less immediate and is filtered through a sense of history and memory.
"Georgia & Sabine"
Georgia and Sabine are my two girls, miniature dachshunds, who I've been photographing for years. Each image is a quiet moment on an ordinary day, just like a thousand other moments taken for granted. My relationship with them has always been very up-close and personal, as are my photographs. Taken at eye level in a domestic environment, the portraits have an intimacy that takes the viewer closer to the thin line that separates we human animals from our pets. There is a sense of waiting and anticipation in these photographs that is unique to the routine life of a domesticated pet. Yet I think this feeling of expectation often resonates with the viewer as part of the human experience, where much of our life is spent in ordinary activities with the anticipation of something bigger or more exciting around the corner. These somewhat unremarkable moments string together to create a life, and it is often in their midst where we find beauty, joy, and peace.
"Elements"
I am equally comfortable immersed in an urban environment or in the natural world, and perhaps this is the reason for my attraction to the contest between the man-made and the organic, particularly where one seems to be holding the upper hand. Urban development and nature are in constant negotiation, and we are witness to their many small dramas going on around us all the time. There is an aching beauty that hangs in the balance of the moment, and always hints at what just was, or what soon will be.