Family Reunion

I am interested in the way our memories are preserved through photographs. Cameras have always been a staple of my family reunions and parties, whether it was a film camera, digital camera, to phone cameras. I use these photos as reference for my paintings, though I attempt to anonymize the people by removing facial features. This makes the viewer more empathetic, hopefully imagining their own family members and remembering moments they’ve had with them.

I use liquid charcoal with watercolor ground on found cut matboard. The matboard was once used to go between film projector slides, so they are all cut into 2 inch by 2 inch squares. The square shape is not only reminiscent of photography through film slides, but also Polaroids and Instagram photos. The small size aids in the anonymity of the figures and spaces, as well as when viewed in person, requires the viewer to be intimate with the pieces