I create light boxes filled with transparent photographs of deteriorating and rusting objects. These objects, found in areas of urban decay and re-growth, attract me because of their vestigial nature. The objects I photograph all bear evidence of decay and transformation. The objects begin as functional – springs, a hook, pipes, a cable – but, when abandoned, absorb and react to the environment in which they are left. I take these objects to my studio to photograph; these photographs become the material for explorations of form. The singular objects, isolated from any contextual relationships through the photograph, lose all connection with their original function. Peeling coat-hangers become monumental forms. A copper toilet-bowl float becomes an impossibly new object. Presented within a box, scale is rendered obsolete and new relationships are created between juxtaposed objects. The wooden boxes are primarily functional, but also serve to formally frame and conclude each composition. The boxes, which incorporate self-contained lighting, are constructed using birch plywood. They measure 14 x 14 x 19, 20 x 14 x 19 and 36 x 9 x 19. All of the images are shot with a Canon Digital SLR and are printed archivally on Pictorico OHP Transparency Film using an Epson Inkjet. By decontextualizing functional objects, I create formal compositions that are not readily explicable. I produce visual imagery that is based on the relationships between objects divorced from context. I am captivated by the way in which light, shadow and form can be layered to create new relationships. The transparent material onto which I print is at the core of the compositions: textures can be layered; the lines between negative and positive space become blurred.
