Zelda Zinn

Overlay

2006 - 2007
My training and background are deeply rooted in photography, though I am continually drawn to images which push toward the "demilitarized zone" where one medium abuts another.  I like to play at these borders, working with elements from both camps.

Combining photography with drawing (or painting or collage) appeals to me on several levels: it mixes the illusion of 3-d with 2-d flatness; it mingles "reality" with fantasy; it creates a screen through which the photo must be viewed; and it obscures photographic information. The overlays all seem to function by disrupting the visual field. In this sense, they are a form of camouflage.  While camouflage has military connotations, many of the overlays in my pictures are whimsical or humorous.

 These photographs started in response to our being at war. The idea that any place could become a target led to the desire to camouflage homes, a place where one should be able to feel safe. As I began to make these domestic structures blend in, I toyed with the idea of making them disappear altogether, creating a landscape with the plants and the void left behind. The cast shadows of trees on the houses created the initial camouflage; I embellished from there.  While repeatedly contemplating domestic facades, I began to consider the form as well as the function of the “softscape” surrounding them.

 Just as in shooting, certain structures speak to me, I look to the photographs themselves for inspiration on how to cover, disguise, or “disappear” the information presented. I am interested in pushing beyond the straight, "all accounted for" photograph into a hybrid image which renders recognizable detail yet plays with the picture plane, skewing meaning.