Lost and Found
(an ongoing series in progress)

One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

        The old adage seems entirely cliché for those who make their primary living collecting and appraising people’s discarded and forgotten possessions. Time is of the essence, and so is the nature of these objects’ existence. The older and rarer the object, the higher its monetary value. Vintage family photographs fetch hefty sums. Worn-out dolls, rusty retro biscuit tins, porcelain figurines of the kitschy variety, fashions from the early twentieth century – these are revered in their nostalgic value alone. We have long since succeeded in placing monetary values in objects we attribute certain “concepts” to. Nostalgia is, by far, one of the more dominant and more recent “concepts” to be bottled and sold to the masses, joining the likes of Love, Power, Wisdom, and Strength.

        The photographs in the Lost and Found series explore our desires to objectify that which is not tangible, as well humanity’s penchant for monetizing, through various means, concepts involving memory and emotion. This is an ongoing project, one that will, perhaps, see no end until my own expiration date. Admittedly, the project itself is fueled by my own personal fascination with what has been left behind. I am interested in the stories these objects contain, and in my photographic captures, I hope to tell these stories. My artistic practice is deeply rooted in the notion of a past. The what-has-been remains to be just that – an event that has taken place, an object that has once existed. However, this should not, in any way, condone its existence. The objects that are put on display on a daily basis may have price tags attached to them, but the sentimental value behind what these vessels embody is priceless. The physical will forever be transient by nature; the metaphysical, enduring.

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