ANCESTRAL ARRANGEMENTS
After the death of my last parent – the last living connection with my ancestral past - I came into possession of an extensive collection of old family photographs, some dating back to the late 1800s. My initial intention was to scan and archive the images. However, while assembling the photographs on the flatbed scanner I started using its tools and settings to explore new ways of interpreting the photographs. I wanted to inject a new life and new meaning into the personal and historical narratives that are interwoven within my family history. So, I used the ‘scan frame’ tool to isolate certain areas, individuals, or features. Within those ‘frames’ I created colour, tonal, or exposure overlays to accentuate a known familial story or relationship, or to add my own interpretation, or inject abstract compositional elements. I then took screenshots of the new compositions. By intertwining and overlaying the photographs with my own ideas it’s my way of re-framing my ancestors’ personal and historical narratives, bringing their histories into my own 21st Century photographic world.
