This work is a study of the transformation from three-dimensional objects to two-dimensional prints. All of these creations are ephemeral, and are no sooner created than destroyed. These photographs explore the topology of a collection, a collection that blends contemporary time with 19th century collecting practices. These ambiguous objects are metaphoric creations that express my fears and desires of not only death but also life.

Photography has often been understood as a representational device for portraying reality or truth. I am using this assumption to make the viewer question the greater function or purpose of these objects. I want the viewer to believe in these objects the same way they believe in medicine. Through making these objects, I am reconstructing and deconstructing what is a spiritual symbol or experience. These objects allude to spirituality that blends science, magic, and religion. I am also questioning the possibilities of technology and medicine encroaching or overcoming religion.

At the same time, the act of showing these objects is a performance, not in the traditional sense where the audience is directly there, but a performance where the viewer has to believe someone is testing their own beliefs and knowledge. At the same time, these objects or performances appear to be anonymous. They are common and familiar and could have been made by anyone.

We also all wish to preserve objects or even time, but it is an impossible task that emphasizes life’s ephemeral quality. This, in itself, is a metaphor for self-preservation, which is an equally impossible task. By showing the unattainable preservation, these objects have a sense of mourning that is not only saddening, but mystifying. These photographs are printed at 40”x50”, a larger than life transformation. This transformation of the mundane into the monumental shows the distinction between the expected and the experienced.