MILEAGE
This project began 2 months prior to my grandfather entering a (for the sake of being honest) "Nursing Home" call it an "Assisted Living Home" if you so choose...
The concept for this project came to fruition on a trip from Denver to North Carolina in December of 2008 where I paid a visit to my grandfather and stayed the night. That night the image "Slowly Our Spirit Escapes" was captured. Mileage was the motivation, see I believe every vehicle is built to withstand a certain number of miles before it struggles to complete the most mundane task.The mind I feel is much the same. Until that visit my grandfather had been a man of story after story, a man that when you carried on a conversation he did all the carrying. No longer was that the case as he sat with a blank stare trying to shuffle amidst all those long years, all those many memories to find a single word. As my grandfather struggled to pin point the name of the face in front of him while a thousand faces of the years gone by crowded what limited space the mind must have. I too searched for a way to express what my grandfather was experiencing...
Through the use of double exposure photography I discovered a means of expression. The flashing and passing lights of each image are simply headlights. However each headlight symbolizes much more, each is an experience a memory that has come and gone...
This project is ongoing the scale of this project I can not estimate. My grandfather is currently 92 years old and lives approximately 1600 miles away. Only twice per year do I see him. When I see him my camera is with me as we talk about the past while he struggles to gain a sense of the present.
The concept for this project came to fruition on a trip from Denver to North Carolina in December of 2008 where I paid a visit to my grandfather and stayed the night. That night the image "Slowly Our Spirit Escapes" was captured. Mileage was the motivation, see I believe every vehicle is built to withstand a certain number of miles before it struggles to complete the most mundane task.The mind I feel is much the same. Until that visit my grandfather had been a man of story after story, a man that when you carried on a conversation he did all the carrying. No longer was that the case as he sat with a blank stare trying to shuffle amidst all those long years, all those many memories to find a single word. As my grandfather struggled to pin point the name of the face in front of him while a thousand faces of the years gone by crowded what limited space the mind must have. I too searched for a way to express what my grandfather was experiencing...
Through the use of double exposure photography I discovered a means of expression. The flashing and passing lights of each image are simply headlights. However each headlight symbolizes much more, each is an experience a memory that has come and gone...
This project is ongoing the scale of this project I can not estimate. My grandfather is currently 92 years old and lives approximately 1600 miles away. Only twice per year do I see him. When I see him my camera is with me as we talk about the past while he struggles to gain a sense of the present.
