Artist Statement
A memory unspoken is lost forever…Opening a box, seeing an image, asking a question, wanting to hear the story.
A photographic image; exploring how a moment in time, captured on camera can act as a powerful trigger of memory, or spark a personal narrative that provides a link to the past. Memories that pass from generation to generation often become blurred and frayed around the edges, like an old photograph.
Starting with the original image of the photograph, the image is transferred onto fabric, on both a small and large scale. The transferring of this image to create art can be related to the passing down of a story from generation to generation, using a single image as a trigger. This reinforces the importance of the original image itself. The sharing of these personal photographs allows the artist to forge a relationship with the viewer, by allowing them to also forge a link with the past.
Taryn Simon and Thomas Kilpper both create art by tracing bloodlines and charting family history. The works of both these artists show portraiture through photography, with each image showing a compelling story.