Rebecca

The concept for my Multi-Portraits sprang from a lack of fulfillment with the “straight” portrait; trying to capture the essence of a human being with a single frozen moment. By incorporating a sense of movement, multiplication, and overlapping, the portraits become more complex to visually digest and interpret. During the photo shoot, the subjects had a large degree of control over their gestures, expressions and general appearance. However, once the initial photos were captured, they had to relinquish the power to control their image and leave me to build the final portrait as I saw fit. I am interested in pushing beyond straight representational imagery and emphasizing construction and manipulation within the photographic process. I utilize a method in which I can digitally build a portrait, rather than “take” the one that is presented to me. The straight photographs simply serve as the raw materials for abstracted, frankensteinian creations that depict the subject with greater visual complexity.