2007-2008

THE LOVING FAMILY

Appearing to be happy at work and play, the all-American family puts on a good face for the outside world. But within the home, the façade breaks and a darker side becomes visible. The home reveals multiple types of emotional and physical scarring. Each member of the family unit has the potential to create turmoil and violence. Shedding light on the “loving family,” this is an investigation into the darker side of domesticity and its psychological and social ramifications. Psychologists use play as a means of ascertaining a family’s propensity for violence. By utilizing the idea of play therapy, my work looks into the psyche of family violence.

The Work: In 2007, the images for this body of work were photographed almost exclusively with a 4” X 5” large format view camera. Each image was captured on film, processed in the darkroom or color lab, scanned, adjusted in Adobe Photoshop and then printed either on an Epson 9000 or on a Lambda Color Print Processor. The final prints are 30” X 40.”