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Memory of Absence Memory of Absence Memory of Absence Memory of Absence Memory of Absence Memory of Absence Memory of Absence Memory of Absence

Honorable Mention / Fine Art

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Memory of Absence Memory of Absence Memory of Absence Memory of Absence Memory of Absence Memory of Absence Memory of Absence Memory of Absence
BETH GALTON

Memory of Absence
Memory of Absence
Memory of Absence
Memory of Absence
Memory of Absence
Memory of Absence
Memory of Absence
Memory of Absence
Memory of Absence
BETH GALTON
Memory of Absence

So much of who we are is passed from generation to generation—our genes, our behaviors—molded by our parents and grandparents. My mother's relationship with her mother was fraught with difficulties and these same dynamics were passed onto me. In 2017, my mother and father—who had not lived together for 50 years—died within 3 days of each other. I discovered many artifacts from my life of which surprised me and I had no memory of.
In this series, I combined botanicals with objects and photographs that I found, in order to convey a sense of memory and loss. The organic and volatile botanicals serve as a reminder of the ever-changing nature of memory and emotions—an unstable and profoundly unreliable process.
I compose and photograph botanicals with the collected objects. I then print out the image and create yet another still life by layering more objects with the print and re-photograph it. This creates a further sense of the complex and layered emotions found within family dynamics.

Author
Beth Galton is a photo-based artist, with an educational background in the natural sciences and 30 plus years of experience as a professional photographer in the editorial and commercial world. Her personal practice brings these elements of her history together, using them to explore her world through the nature of time and organic forms. Galton collects objects, items from her past and botanicals which she often manipulates and dries to constructs still lifes. In her photographs, these assemblages and portraits connect the viewer to the ecological cycles of the natural world, including their own aging and mortality.

Galton’s artwork has been exhibited in shows throughout the US and Europe. Her work has been seen at Montpellier Contemporian, in France, Wave Hill, The Center for Fine Art Photography in Colorado, the Center for Photographic Art in California, Beth Urdang Gallery in Boston and was part of ‘The Fence’, a traveling outdoor exhibition shown in seven cities across the count

Website
bethgalton.com
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