House

​Inkjet prints on paper and acetate
24 ½ x 23 x 3 ½ inches
2017

In the series House, Cravens is exploring the idea of memory and nostalgia by photographing her childhood home.  She used appropriated family photographs to serve as the anchor for the series.  After examining the precise locations in the house in which the original photographs were taken, Cravens then re-photograph those same areas after the building underwent cosmetic changes.  These cosmetic changes occurred in 2013, when the building transitioned from being her family’s home to becoming a rental property.

The way in which the photographs in House are displayed allows the viewers to trace the changes made in the building over time.  The appropriated photographs are printed on clear acetate and placed three inches in front of the new photographs.  The new images serve as a backdrop for the appropriated images, giving context to these small snippets in time.  The imagery from the appropriated photographs project onto the new images, imprinting its memories onto the space.  This soft and often distorted reproduction of the appropriated photographs mimics the nature of memory and nostalgia. 

From images full of artifacts and mementos, to starkly empty spaces, each room becomes barely recognizable.  This project not only focuses on memories of the house, but also on how the recent physical changes done to the building affect the perception of the space.