about
about
Empty Vessel #1 is a personal memory. The bathroom, especially the bathtub is an intentional choice of environment for the emptiness a woman feels. In the shower we are most exposed to ourselves, naked, cocooned in the sterile confine of a manufactured space. Within the shower one is reminded of one of our most basic purpose, a painful reminder as she washes her lower abdomen longing for the gentle kick of a baby inside. Photographing the tub from the lowest angle focuses on the emptiness of the space, the drain has an off putting tilt to it, discomfort is found in the grime marking its walls. The water has retreated, only droplets remain and will eventually disappear, the absence of the woman entirely realized.
Empty Vessel 1. 24x36 Inkjet Foamcore Print. 2018
I experimented with different angles and light manipulation. Some photos included more motion in the water, however I felt that this was not effective in portraying the absence of the woman, the motion of the water was to active for the space.
Experimenting with angles changed the meaning of the piece and I settled with the straight on close up of the offputting drain.
Empty Vessel #2 is a thought. The artists sink is a physical object of abandonment. The only thing that remains is the debris and hues of past creativity. Discarded paper and the slow drain of a clogged sink are all visual reminders of the absence of the artist.
Empty Vessel 2. 12 x 8" Inkjet Foamcore Print. 2018.
I loved the exploration of this sink and wanted to create the sense of abandonment but felt that these images were not as powerful as the former for the idea of the absence of the artist.
I wanted to explore the emptiness experienced in domesticity. The vase is a source of life and sustenance for life, however when not fostered, cleaned, or maintained it becomes a place of decay and death. The smell within this vase is putrid and a reminder of the emptiness felt when we are not taken care of.
The use of light is intentional to observe the vase in different ways. The silhouette of light and the reflective quality found in the water spilt on the counter is a useful way of talking about our own mirrored existence.
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