A Sub-Conscious Conversation

Silver Gelatin ©2009-2010


I only have a sense of what the images are about after I have printed them. The selection of the objects pictured in these images come from a place I can only describe as my sub-conscious; I don’t begin with a preconceived idea of how the objects in the images will relate or any particular message the image should communicate.

Composed of seemingly random compilations of objects and trinkets from around the house, a clock, cigarette butts, a novelty angel, found at most Hallmark stores, etc. for me, the meanings of the objects change unpredictably when put in combination. It’s no longer just a ceramic angel when pictured with plaster Voodoo death mask. It becomes an evocation of spirit or good eroded by evil. What makes the images in this series most intriguing is how two objects in most cases, seemingly unrelated – come together within a frame to evoke an unpredictable feeling, an emotional response.

What is appealing about working with multiple images is that there is so much left to chance; one can’t say in advance how the objects will relate. There are always surprises and disappointments as these photographs were made with a pinhole camera, where it’s difficult to predict exactly where an object will appear in the frame. This process opens up the possibility of discovery.

The softness of the small images along with the extreme depth of field associated with pinhole images gives all the objects a similar dreamlike quality, helping to keep the associations between the objects more ambiguous. My choice to keep the prints small adds to their intimacy, and since photographs made with a pinhole are generally rather soft in focus, printing them in a larger scale would perhaps render them feel less personal.

While I find these images sometimes might address questions dealing with things like love, hate, sex, boredom, fear or death and make statements that are large by nature, they still represent intimate pieces of my own inner thoughts and my constant sub-conscious conversation.

This collection won the Presidential Award for the Senior Show in 2010 at Salisbury University.