Sunday, November 25, 2018

Blog Review #12

www.lensculture.com/articles/jill-booker-shards
LensCulture introduced me to Jill Booker's Shards, a series that depicts the artist's process of "tearing images apart and piecing them back together into new forms as a cathartic form of creation." Her use of both analog and digital techniques encourages viewers of her work to further examine the layers created by her mix of tactile and digital. Her processes also encourage discussion pertaining to the evolution of the photograph and what qualifies as a photograph.
"Her multiple layers of interpretation are essential for unpacking and analyzing our memories and sense of self."
I personally enjoyed this series because I felt intrigued by the evident texture present within the images. After reading more about the work, I further enjoyed the intended purpose behind the photos, that of destruction and losing oneself, and of the reparation that one undergoes afterward. Knowing this, the images seem to evoke a poetic vibrance, and the lack of color add a feeling of nostalgia and sadness. I absolutely love the contrasting textures within the components because it almost looks like the viewer is looking into a vortex of different, overlapping realms.
"In them I could see this feeling of falling apart and losing my sense of self, with the roughly-sketched outlines representing the beginning of me finding myself again."
Overall, I find the artist's decision to work with memory quite interesting because her procedures, which include morphing, tearing, and editing, resemble the very nature of her subject.
"The collages are quite flimsy, which mirrors the way memories fade and warp over time."
Shards 4 © Jill Booker

Shards 2 © Jill Booker

"I am fascinated by memory. It is such a powerful influence on our lives, but it is also ever-changing. Old memories fade and are changed by new experiences and understandings. Memories blend together over time. Sometimes imagined events and wishes even blend in with those memories. In spite of these changes to our thoughts, we trust and believe in them, and they are an important part of shaping who we are. The odd-numbered pieces in the series represent the process of simpler memories gradually building up into a fuller, more complex memory system - an autobiography."

Shards 1 © Jill Booker

"I think the idea of 'glitches' and putting the pieces together is also so important in this series. There are times when we feel like we have lost our way. We aren't sure who we are or who we want to become. Perhaps part of working through that lies in memory - searching for connections that will help us put the pieces back together. The even-numbered pieces in the series reflect this. They develop from the fragmented, ill-formed, empty versions of self to the sketching-in of a well-defined, more complex self that has internalized the memories."

Shards 6 © Jill Booker

Shards 8 © Jill Booker

Shards 3 © Jill Booker

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