Dear Photograph,
Dear Photograph,
This is my brother. He has Landau-Kleffner Syndrome, but he was one of the happiest, funniest
people I knew, and one of my favorite people in the world. I knew all the best ways to make him
laugh and all his favorite things. We also fought a lot and sometimes I had scratches all over
my arms, but I would do anything to take back those scratches if I could get back the real
him, too. I was his best friend and his protector. Although he couldn’t talk well, I was the one
who always understood him the best. Now he almost never talks.
Love,
Amanda
Dear Photograph,
This is my 4th birthday party, my last one at this house. I have lived in seven different houses and
apartments in my life, all in the same town, and this one is still my favorite. Here, I sang “You are my
Sunshine” in the basement and learned to read. Here, my family was still whole.
Love,
Amanda
Artist Statement for "Home"
My photographs invite others into the current physical living environments of my life, while capturing the emotions I feel as I struggle to find a home inside of these spaces. After my parents’ divorce when I was four, I have had two separate spheres of living spaces. For my dad, it has always been the same house; this is the house in my portfolio. For my mom, it has constantly been changing, from apartments to houses and now hotels, as she lives in New York and comes to visit me in Massachusetts every other weekend. Whether I would be with my older brother, my younger brother, both, or neither also changed. This inconsistency in setting and family has deprived me of feeling like I have a traditional “home” in any of these buildings. I separate what I call home from the common connotation of the word, and from what most others think of themselves. When my family was whole and living under the same roof was when I felt truly at home.
In my artwork, I have focused on taking photos of domestic items and spaces, such as an iron, drawers, and food. These objects all belong in most people’s homes, but through my choice of lighting and desaturated colors, I attempt to convey the lack of connection and familiarity I feel with these things. Similarly, the arrangement of the objects in the photos strip them of any comfort that one normally would have when looking at photos of home; the mess of the food, the way every drawer is open in the hotel, and the initial slight confusion when looking at the picture of the stairs add to this effect. The distinction between the photos of my house and those of the hotels is obvious to me, but by keeping a similar color scheme, brightness, and style throughout all of the photos, regardless of setting, I express the same emotions in both of these types of spaces.
In my artwork, I have focused on taking photos of domestic items and spaces, such as an iron, drawers, and food. These objects all belong in most people’s homes, but through my choice of lighting and desaturated colors, I attempt to convey the lack of connection and familiarity I feel with these things. Similarly, the arrangement of the objects in the photos strip them of any comfort that one normally would have when looking at photos of home; the mess of the food, the way every drawer is open in the hotel, and the initial slight confusion when looking at the picture of the stairs add to this effect. The distinction between the photos of my house and those of the hotels is obvious to me, but by keeping a similar color scheme, brightness, and style throughout all of the photos, regardless of setting, I express the same emotions in both of these types of spaces.