Inkjet pigment printed collages
12 x 12 inches
2014
The series Grandfather questions the truth of memory, the truth of the photograph, and the truth of family narratives. Each image depicts a constructed memory of Bruce Garrett and myself, grandfather and granddaughter. No such memory has ever existed in reality, because Bruce Garrett died before I was born. These images create a narrative for our lost relationship and construct an alternative family archive. Throughout this series I find the gaps in my own understanding of who Bruce Garrett was, and try to come to terms with the gap my own children will experience because of the death of my own father.
Grandfather was created using appropriated family imagery. The process of combining the photographs is not seamless, as to show the nature of this false reality. Utilizing my limited knowledge from stories about who Bruce Garrett was, I selected images from family archives that portrayed those characteristics. I then searched for images of myself, showing a progression throughout my life, that corresponded with the body positioning and emotion of the images of my grandfather. The original photographs were reproduced and combined by physically tearing and gluing the image together. While it is obvious that the images are constructed and false, the facial expressions and visual relationships between the figures almost show a semblance of truth in the final composition.