Deconstruction Zone
My parents had a loving yet frequently tempestuous relationship. If I were to graph their emotional range it would resemble mountaintops and valleys. There was no middle ground.
I wanted to express their love and its many variations in my artwork and found the way to do it while rummaging through a box of old photographs. I was drawn to a picture that appears to have been taken at the beginning of their marriage in the early '40s. I scanned the image and merged it with a bold, graphic background that I created from several of my photographs. The result is a lyrical portrait of youthful lovers stepping into a world of infinite possibilities. Their radiant faces and linked arms are symbolic of youth's confidence and love's trust. By isolating these iconic elements and digitally manipulating them, I've produced new images that relate to the original yet have a life of their own.
The use of vibrant, contrasting colour, light and shadow as well as layered and juxtaposed images create increasingly more abstract constructions, mirroring the complexity of their relationship. Yet the shattered pieces come together in the final photograph showing the real strength and endurance of their union.
I wanted to express their love and its many variations in my artwork and found the way to do it while rummaging through a box of old photographs. I was drawn to a picture that appears to have been taken at the beginning of their marriage in the early '40s. I scanned the image and merged it with a bold, graphic background that I created from several of my photographs. The result is a lyrical portrait of youthful lovers stepping into a world of infinite possibilities. Their radiant faces and linked arms are symbolic of youth's confidence and love's trust. By isolating these iconic elements and digitally manipulating them, I've produced new images that relate to the original yet have a life of their own.
The use of vibrant, contrasting colour, light and shadow as well as layered and juxtaposed images create increasingly more abstract constructions, mirroring the complexity of their relationship. Yet the shattered pieces come together in the final photograph showing the real strength and endurance of their union.