In my photographic process I sometimes explore the unexplainable, things that appear, then disappear, visions, or dreams. “Slivers by the River/Painted Portals” was photographed at night, so the work exudes the unknown or the unseen. I used a soft matte paper, adding color by hand and photoshop. Creating cyanotypes and lumen cyanotypes added another layer of days past. I see these photographs as portraits of houses as they sing, scream, cry, and moan.
Spirits in dwellings have long impacted my life. I moved to The Bywater because the neighborhood reminded me of Neve Tzedek, a neighborhood, built in 1887, outside of the old port city of Jaffa in Palestine. I lived there in a very old house while pursuing my dance career in the 1980’s. The area was inhabited by artists of all kinds, finding common ground in the old, decaying, and neglected buildings we called home.
My house in The Bywater was built in the 1840’s, so there are spirits roaming the neighborhood at night. At times I find myself turning around to see if someone is behind me, and they usually are. Can you see them swirling about?
