Water Water Everywhere | A Portrait Series of Water

Water Water Everywhere
A Portrait Series of Water

In every photograph there is a dream and a purpose. Although more appealing, this dream does not have to be an idealistic one. A photograph of something heartbreaking is equally as powerful as an image that depicts a paradisiacal landscape. Both pictures pluck the viewer from the confines of the “here and now” and place them somewhere else. Along the same lines, the purpose of an image does not have to fall within the conventional perspectives. While many artists create with a commentary in mind, an image’s purpose does not have to have an agenda beyond being a medium for a viewer’s escape from ordinary life.

A great example of a powerful photograph in both dream and purpose is Dorthea Lange’s portrait of a Migrant Mother. The viewer is immediately drawn into the reality that faces the hungry mother and the reasons for this struggle. This image in particular has been a source of inspiration for my senior project.

Water Water Everywhere is a photographic look at water as both a subject for escape and intimacy. Using different techniques like slow shutter speeds and panoramas, portraits of water have been created to show its intricacies as well as the qualities that allow a viewer to lose themselves in an image. The idea of permanent and impermanent art is explored through the designing of a 21–month calendar which allows for the use of commercial-type photography and the fine art setting of the gallery show for senior artwork. All of the proceeds from any sales of the calendar or works in the gallery will go directly to charity: water, an organization dedicated to building wells in third world nations where clean water is scarce. The purpose of this project is not to make a political, environmental or social commentary but to see water in a new way and to allow this endeavor to benefit others in need.

"Swell" | 8x12 | Digital

"Quiescent" | 8x12 | Digital

"Where Do You Want To Go?" | 8x8 | Digital

Alice came to a fork in the road. “Which road do I take?” she asked.
“Where do you want to go?” responded the Cheshire cat.
“I don’t know,” Alice answered.
“Then,” said the cat, “it doesn’t matter.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland