absent friends
The Absent Friends series was active from 2009-2015, and has been displayed in galleries, museums and magazines. Gallery locations include Paris, France, and Princeton, New Jersey.
Absent Friends is an exploration of relationships and photography. The viewer is presented with a large volume of portrait images that have in common but one factor - the subjects have been photographed with one or more animals or animal-like counterparts, ranging from real animals to people in masks to cheap toys. Each image is seemingly standalone, and often the relationship between subject and animal is highly ambiguous. Some animals appear to loom unnoticed behind a subject. Other times, an animal appears to pop into the frame at the exact moment of the photograph. And yet in other cases, the subject appears to acknowledge the animal, or even to use or embrace it in some way. Still, the full dynamics of the relationship is never clear. The only thing we know for absolute certain is that the subject and animal occupy a shared space for the duration of a single photograph. When viewed in aggregate, the photographs contain no apparent group meaning, directive or background. The viewer is forced to form his or her own relationship with the images as a whole or individually, perhaps by recognizing a subject, a favorite animal, a preferred composition style, a preferred style of relationship or even a simple aesthetic element (attraction to a subject, prop or article of clothing). As the viewer makes these choices, he or she catalogues and prioritizes the images into a personalized gallery in which some pieces will get more attention and focus than others - and not necessarily because of anything contained in any given image itself. As these choices and preferences become clear, the viewer is invited to scrutinize specific images and recognize and reflect on similar relationships in his or her own life, be they with friends, lovers, old acquaintances who never return phone calls, missed connections on the street that might have led to relationships, or even the relationship between strangers when they temporarily occupy shared space. Likewise, the very concept of sharing space momentarily with a stranger may be reflected upon from the perspective of relationships. Additionally, the images ask us to reflect on our own relationships with the images at that precise time. The viewer of the photograph has the power of information; he or she knows that both the subject and animal are there, even if they themselves are unaware of the other. The viewer may also examine the photograph for as long as he or she likes, essentially holding and controlling the image while attempting to determine the nature of the relationship at hand. That said, the viewer can never have the power of having been at the site when the photograph was taken, or of getting a clear and definitive answer on the relationship in the photograph. Indeed, these may not be known even to the subject (and, obviously, the animals). The unseen photographer may be the only source for this information. The viewer has imposed his or her own categories and themes upon the images - and by investing in them, has made clearer how truly separate from them he or she is. As the meaning is separated from the image content, and the image content is further separated from the viewer, the gulf between photographer, subject and viewer becomes apparent. |
Selections from Absent Friends
|