I strive to create images that elegantly articulate the totality of existence, focusing heavily on life’s underlying instinctive, carnal nature in the face of fragility and impermanence. The concept of morality in relation to mortality has possessed a significant presence within the history of art, ranging from religious altarpiece imagery to the work of the vanitas painters. Manifesting melancholic themes with beauty, precision and seduction forces the viewer to look, despite its grotesque and morbid nature. Through these images, I aspire to make apparent the restlessness of a life that is knowingly so temporary and vulnerable by marrying the harsh and intense with the elegant and romantic.
My work is highly process oriented. Before photographing, preliminary watercolor sketches are made of the scene to establish the concept visually plan the collection of materials accordingly. For my more recent work, the insects used are real dried specimens acquired from collectors across the globe. Arriving brittle and fragile, they must go through a process of rehydration and are mounted into the new shape, which gives them a sense of life and movement. Skeletons are acquired from natural history purveyors that specialize in custom bone articulation. The actual arrangement of the still life scene, a precise, sculptural endeavor, is photographed using 8×10 color film and natural light. The large format allows for immense detail and the potential for mural size prints, which is crucial to the presentation of these photographs.
Tara Sellios
www.tarasellios.com
@tarasellios
