Justine Reyes' Vanitas

Justine Reyes was the Juror's Choice in Center's 2010 Project Competition. Her work is elegant and compelling. Her vision, composition and lighting is extraordinary.











In her words...

"Taking inspiration from Dutch Vanitas paintings, these photographs incorporate personal artifacts within the traditional construct of still life. Pairing objects that belonged to my grandmother with my own possessions speaks to the concept of memory, familial legacy and the passage of time. The incorporation of modern elements such as the Saran wrap, plastic, sugar packages etc, as well as the use of photography itself add an additional layer of nostalgia and irony when viewed within the historical framework of Vanitas painting.

Both the decomposition of the natural (rotting fruit and wilting flowers) and the break down of the man-made objects, reference the physical body, life's impermanence and the inevitability of death.

My work examines identity, mortality and the longing to hold on to things that are ephemeral and transitory in nature."