I make images that at first glance don’t look like the photographs they are. Exploiting the deceptive nature of appearances, my work examines the illusory nature of photographic truth and its correspondence to perceived reality. For my series, “Representations”, I transform everyday objects from the recent past to flatten space making three-dimensional objects appear like simple line drawings. To create this illusion I first whitewash and then rearticulate their physical form by drawing directly onto their surfaces with charcoal. No digital manipulation is involved; the deception depends upon the monocular view of the camera. In these photographic documents of three-dimensional drawings, the object is reduced to an iconic representation of itself, calling attention to its aesthetic or obsolescent design, and, oftentimes, its outdated technology.
I’m interested in how or if we perceive and experience the distinction between reality and illusion. How do we learn to see, identify and remember, and what roles do images play in how we understand the world we live in. By denying certain aesthetic expectations and assumptions, these visual hybrids intend to interrupt a passive viewing experience in order to reveal the photograph as if seen for the first time.
