Perceiving Loss

Time and loss are things that, no matter how many possessions or how much knowledge one accumulates, no person is capable of avoiding. Many people don’t consider the pain of loss until they are confronted with it. Though it is more of a subconscious realization, consumption, memory, and decay all play roles in both time and loss.

Loss is not something that I feel I am fully adept in dealing with in my everyday life, so in working through my personal frustrations with this matter, photographing still lifes has allowed me to explore a process that often goes unnoticed or taken for granted. By observing the process that is often ignored, I am beginning to better understand the complex layers and dynamics of loss and time.

These short stop-motion style animations are the result of an attentive, time-sensitive process. Each still life was composed, then either consumed or left out to decay. The resulting changes were carefully documented after every bite and/or each day until only remnants were left behind. The collections of consecutive still photographs were then made animate to better make the progression of time and deterioration evident. In understanding the process and seeing the animated result, viewers are able to open a new dialogue in the perceptions of loss and time.