Photo Essay #2

PHOTOS BELOW

This photo essay assignment required that I establish a hypothesis and visually support it. I chose to do something that has haunted me for months.

I wanted to somehow relive or recreate the moments (in chronological order) when I took certain photos of Rox around our pool, the same pool that is now gutted and rife with rancid rainwater…the same pool that was filled with pure jubilation and now emptied of all life.

I struggle between reality and “surreality.” Up is down. Life is death, death, life. This assignment almost got the best of me. It put me into a bad place. But that was the test for me—face it, own it, relive it, confront it, let it play out organically.

I put myself and the photo enlargements in the exact spots where we were over the years. I waited for the same weather, light and shadow conditions to take the shots. I also waited until I was mentally fit to take the photos, because I was crying and shaking so violently.

Again, the photos within the photos were meant to illustrate the stark contrast between life and death. Each photo in the series hints at the overall theme until the very last shot which is a “reveal” of sorts and intentionally meant to resemble the pool as a tomb—the finality of it all.

The poster was part of our Rally for Roxie event when kids and adults contributed thoughts for our beloved baby-girl. I was also inspired by a brilliant artist friend of mine who once tied weights around his arm so he could struggle to render a large oil-based portrait that took months to complete.