ALL OF THE THINGS
I am an artist who uses portraiture to examine my disability through the objects I rely on. Rather than treating things as props or background, I photograph them as if they were sitters: as if the were attentive, but necessary, and marked by use. Mother’s blue cane—the one Father gave me—leaning by a doorway; a bright yellow chair tucked in close to the table so I can pass it in my wheelchair; A folded towel on the sink’s edge because turning around to reach the towel rack could result in a fall; a silver tray—given to me by Jackie—that sits atop my walker. It carries the things that I cannot—like a cup of hot coffee or a bowl of soup. A few cushions stacked on my reading chair, making it just high enough to get out of; but not high enough to be uncomfortable. A pole beside my bed which helps me in and out. A pair of shoes soft enough to stop my foot from aching. These items mark the negotiations between my body and my environment. They hold the evidence of my use.
I am interested in the way disability reorganizes my material world. Objects that might otherwise seem neutral begin to take on new meaning when they are relied upon repeatedly, repositioned for access, modified, or brought close enough to my body to grab. I have been taking photographs of these things, I want to slow down the act of looking and ask what such objects can reveal about the lived textures of disability. The seemingly ordinary things that are often overlooked.
In addition to the photographs I also completed a manuscript for a memoir entited: When I Close My Eyes I See Orange. I am still searching for a publisher.
All the Things that Make this Home: A Kind of Un-raveling and Re-building of the Human Spirit
archival inkjet print
36 x 54 inches
2024
Ol' Miss Pink Eyes
archival inkjet print
36 x 54 inches
2026
Blue Nose
archival inkjet print
36 x 54 inches
2026
Polka says "Hi."
archival inkjet print
36 x 54 inches
2026
Norwegian Weaver
archival inkjet print
36 x 54 inches
2026
Lil' Pinky
archival inkjet print
x 54 inches
2026
Carl
archival inkjet print
36 x 54 inches
2026
Olympia
archival inkjet print
36 x 54 inches
2026
Clip Monster
archival inkjet print
36 x 54 inches
2026
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