1985
40 gelatin silver prints; 8” x 10”; each image printed in separate edition of 5 – 7 plus 2 artist’s proofs; 17 selected images also printed 11” x 14”, of which 16 images are printed in separate editions of 4 – 5, and 1 image is unique.
Unveilings constitutes the first body of work created in my studio using a scrim of translucent white fabric. The scrim was hung in front of a window, backlit by indirect, natural light, with anemones placed in front of it. The aim, however, was not to focus on the flowers against a static backdrop, but to create a dialogue between figure and ground. The fabric was pulled, pinned, taped and otherwise manipulated until its folds created a dynamic – what I call ‘charged’ – composition in light and shadow; one of several anemones was then selected based on whether it looked like it would work with the dynamics of that composition in terms of the curvature of the stem, the openness of the petals, their translucency or lack thereof, and so on. This process was repeated for each photograph; as the series grew, the varying stances – turned backs, profiles, or fully open – seemed to become metaphors for vulnerability.