After I was vaccinated I decided to explore working with models and my photography. I had worked with models in the past when I used to do figure drawing and watercolor painting. I had dabbled in it with photographer but without satisfying results. IÂ had a friend who encouraged me to start working with models and introduced me to a wonderful human being who IÂ spent three days working with and learning a new skill. It set me off on a direction of discovery and learning.
In the last two years I have shot more images with models than all of the images I created from 2012 - 2020. I realized unconsciously that I was trying to build the skills and knowledge like I had with landscapes without needing 8 years to do it. I had friends, fellow photographers and family members who were very confused why I was suddenly photographing naked people. I lost track of the times I had people question if my wife was OK with me doing this. The joy I discovered from collaborating with another person on the same vision was unlike anything I had experienced creatively before.
I’m
sure there are people who wonder why I'm not posting a lot of landscape
photographs anymore. The truth is I still love being out in nature and
connecting with the world, but I am not as inspired by just photographing
landscapes. I've been focused on how to tell a visual story with my art and how to better express what I'm feeling but I was struggling with a clear vision. About eighteen months ago I
came up with a long term project idea after an introspective week and I think I'm now
ready to officially share the first image from it.
I've thought a lot
about grief in the past couple of decades and its impact on me. I am not
unique in dealing with it, each of us have in our own way and there
are many people who have taken on a lot more than I have. Grief
just seems to be something that continues to be a presence in my life. I
have good days and bad days, there are moments when I crack up with a
memory and other ones that knock the wind out of me.
I have found that for me, grief
is not something that I get over or heal from, it's just something I
always carry with me and I have learned how to live with each case as it
comes. I call this art project "Living with Grief" and it aims to visually represent forms of grief and to encourage people to talk about and share their experiences. It is not a pure photography work as I'm using digital tools to composite people going about their lives along side their naked form (representing their raw grief that is unable to be covered up or disguised). The hope is that this work will spawn conversations where in the past there was silence, shame or stigma.
I have recently opened it up to anyone who wants to work on it as I want to represent all aspects of humanity in the work. This has expanded beyond my original concepts of what constitutes grief and it's become a pretty amazing experience. Eventually I hope to create a book of the work and I plan to include my own experiences in as well. I am working in earnest on the project, I have 9 sessions lined up in April alone.Â
"Living with Grief - Tea with Eva"