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Black & White Flowers
1997 - 1999

Image #17

This body of work evolved after the summer that I worked as the photographer on an archeological excavation in Greece. There, I photographed the objects that were unearthed after being buried for several millennium. I already had a personal portfolio of multiple exposure work dealing with Greek and Roman antiquities and this straight documentation of objects left me feeling lifeless.

When I returned to California and my new home and to my garden, I was enchanted by the beauty of my environment. Initially I started to photograph the flowers because of their inherent grace. But as I progressed into the project, I felt that showing the flowers to be handsome was not enough. Flowers are fragile and as one handles them, they come apart. As they came apart, the parts became more than a whole. I decided to concentrate on this aspect of my subject.

The placement of the flower parts creates a certain tension which then lends itself to the impression of movement. This impression of motion transforms the subject into a new an fluid reality. The flowers take on different personalities. Some are still and quiet and appear content, some are active and jumpy, others seem to sway to the tunes of the tango. The energy between the separate entities perpetuates an illusion of change. This evanescent quality of reality has always been the main subject of all my work.

[Printed in limited and numbered editions. 30 images total. ]

- Elena Sheehan

 

 
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