shades

I call this body of work “Shades”—as in ghosts or spirits. The work uses transparency, fading, and distorting elements to express the transitory nature of life, death, and other existential concerns. It is frequently large-scale, sometimes larger than life, and encourages the viewer to notice long-forgotten individuals and consider their lives and likenesses. These are not memorial pieces of the dead but invite us to question our mortality and our desire to be remembered.

In constructing each art piece, I start with antique photographic portraits and reprint them on fine cotton paper using archival inks. Next, the print is deconstructed, rearranged, and hand-sewed into place between two sheets of fabric. Finally, the fabric and paper sandwich is dipped into molten beeswax and dammar resin and pressed flat. Electric lights illuminate the finished hanging pieces from behind.