A Splash.

My work is influenced by my surroundings: nature walks and the discoveries that unfold, emerging seasons, friends, family- especially my Nan who influenced my medium when she was struggling with Alzheimer’s disease, memories that are lost and found, activism, political climates and artists such as Wendy Ewald, Zena Briski and Gustav Klimt. I like to capture the moments most let pass by. To me, photography is a method, a means of visual story telling. It keeps those of the past alive in memory and a way to have the present reflect on their situations.

Once hearing of my Nan’s diagnoses, photography opened a door for me. With this tool, this art I could capture moments in life and share them with new and old alike. Photographs, to me, are pieces of history. We can put a series together and have a story or simply one photograph can say a thousand things. Photography was my way to cope and to hold on to moments that pass by so quickly, the ones we usually take for granted. It was a way to share moments with those who weren’t around and to remember those who are gone.

Photography is not my only medium of choice. I like finding and using scraps of material, found or given to make collages, mixing them with paint, photos, organic materials, metal or different natural adhesives. I relate this type of juxtaposition to society, and how it is created by different types of people from all over and different places to make a whole picture, a whole society. I like to think of my collage making process as taking different materials with different meanings and making a whole image, concrete or abstract.

The process of making art for me is like walking down an unpaved bumpy, dirt road. Every step is unlike the last; Each step is new but not always good; With every step I get closer to my destination; With every step little pebbles stick to the sole of my shoe and I carry them, they help remind me of where I have been.

By: Mary Terese Vigliotti