Susan E Evans Projects Still

2. Projects | 2a. Still

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Images of Mother

How can one mourn someone with whom we are not familiar? In what sense do we really feel the absence and to what extent does this absence serve to restructure our own identities? It has been oft remarked, how preoccupied Derrida was with what has been called a ‘politics of mourning’. Mourning had been an underlying question in the background of Derrida’s texts from his first examination into the metaphysics of presence, and the devaluation of writing in relation to speech. Derrida believed that writing speaks in the absence of its author and is traditionally disparaged and devalued as a medium for thought.

However, such literalness I find limits communication, stifles the imagination and confounds understanding. While writing is accordingly marked by absence, and a sense of loss: I use it to image my biological mother whom I have never met and will never know. I have no oral history, no worldly context, thus the ‘unsolicited’ appropriation, contextualizing and meaning inferred by others creates a mélange of meaning, innuendo and narrative, thereby giving me a frame around my world.

Botanicals

In the spirit of Anna Atkins I have created 9"x7" cyanotypes of some of the plants growing natively around me...in the yards of some of the places I have lived. This is an ongoing series that currently has 4 chapers...NY, MO, MI and UT.

Color Portraits

Americans look first to the color of one's skin instead of seeing the individual. Most Americans place significant value on race. We have been taught that race and personal history plays a major role in individual identity, thus race can be a badge of honor or something that ties us to our communities. However, more often than not, race is a source of social tension or a box that gets checked on government forms, which lead to varied benefit; varied value. This difference in value creates a hierarchy of racial value and contributes to the tension between races, which is the impetus behind segregated communities, stereotyping and racial profiling. In a time of heightened fear of terrorism Americans have seen the government's War on Terror legitimize racial profiling in the name of protecting the American Citizens.

This project is about the American need to categorize people based on skin color and identifies our prejudice and the way we define value, threat or beauty. For these portraits I have matched the individual's skin tone to a Pantone color. I selected the Pantone Matching System as it is an international standardized color system and does not vary from country to country. So each portrait contains the skin tone of the individual and their name and from this, the viewer categorizes, defines and assigns value.

Landscaping: Joshua Tree, CA

When we take the time to look around us, what is it we see? Do we take in that which is laid before us or, not unlike the landscape developer, do we see what could be, the possibilities? We take for granted the expansive spaces and undeveloped areas of our country. Political, Environmental and Industry leaders financially harvest these areas often with little regard for the wildlife and ecosystems that are displaced or destroyed as a result of this 'progress'. Landscaping explores development and natural spaces and the contradiction of 'advancement' that results.

Views

First developed in the late 18th century, panorama paintings captured 360° views of landscapes and historical scenes and represented a new pictorial expression. Individuals for the first time gripped with a fever to experience the horizon and geared towards seeing without obstruction in every direction arousing a sense of hope, allowing the bourgeoisie to see things from a new angle and to infuse the horizon with the promise that Paradise was just beyond sight. Whether we choose to see it or not, every landscape has its own unique texture, rhythm and scenery. Views is an exploration of panoramic scenes, vistas and the inherent magic of each place, it is about history, memory, longing and an appreciation for the space that surrounds us. The editions range in size from 4 ft to 10 feet in length.

Implements of Terror

Post tragedy we are forced to examine that which may provide both possibility and opportunity of threat. In doing so, we find both. Such an examination, though ultimately incurred for our protection, personalizes our national fear of further terrorist attacks. Working with the Orlando International Airport, in October 2001, I photographed on scene with a 4x5 camera, items not making it past the security checkpoints where passengers were given the option not to get on the plane with the item or to “throw it away” by giving it Security.