Hi All!
So lately I have been shooting more digital, which is new for me. I recently undertook a new project of shooting rotten fruit. This subject matter came about from inspiration from my mentor, Polly Steinmetz. She shoots the remains of animals that have passed. She has a way of drawing the viewer's eyes to the beauty in the detail of rotten flesh, matted fur, the shape of a claw, etc... Her work dances with the beauty of the grotesque. Other artists that I love who are also in conversation with the same idea are Sally Mann and Joel Peter Witkin.
I really wanted to challenge myself to look at something that both pushes me away and attracts me. Oddly enough, I am extremely repulsed by rotten food items, so much so, that while my aunt believes in cutting off the rotten part to salvage the rest of the food, I am constantly throwing away anything if I even SUSPECT that it has been sitting too long. Of course, shooting rotten fruit is not at all as grand as shooting a decaying body in a forensic garden or the severed head of a deer, but it is my way of pushing myself to confront something that is out of my comfort zone. Regardless of how mundane, it is a big step for me and I am on quite a journey with it.
The above photo is not a finished piece, but rather an idea that I am still playing around with. I am currently shooting this project in both digital and film, but I haven't decided which one I am going to buckle down with just yet. Both mediums have really brought out the beauty in such a simple matter like mold. Some of the photos look like aerial landscapes!
Once I really get going on this, I will post more pictures. Please feel free to leave constructive critiques, comments, questions or other artists that are working with the same or similar ideas (I know there has to be quite a few, I just haven't found them yet)!
Till next time!
