Artist Statement: Italy

This body of work reflects an intense personal experience disguised as a trip to Italy. The images are a reflection of what I saw, but the vision was an extension of myself, as well as what was seen.

At first the images were very scattered. There was so much to see that I could not process, comprehend or order what I was seeing. All of my senses were overwhelmed. Maybe it was the expresso.

As the days unfolded, I started to stop time and look between the moments for what it was that I was affected by. We went back to the same places, but I saw them differently. Photographic elements began to coalesce and familiar themes emerged; the beauty of light texture and layer. Landscapes are horizontal, portraits are vertical. My sensibilities in the photographs lead directly from my eye through the camera and into the labyrinth of passages, stairways and narrow medieval streets. The impressions came to me. I melded into the ambience of light and composition; the vision became the journey.

Having had the opportunity now to evaluate and print many of the images, I see themes and metaphors that transcend the Italy images themselves, and are consistent with the way I see wherever I am. What makes these different is the layering. If you peel one layer off the images, there would be something older underneath. All that time composing, selecting angles, exposures edges and lines, and the intent of the image is not on the surface at all. It's what's inside that counts.