Patty Maher
Imagined Landscapes
“Each of us lives in a world of our own creation. While we might exist in the same physical space as others, the way we perceive that space is entirely unique – based on our history, biases, hopes, and fears.
In that way, we all exist in imagined landscapes, and the events that unfold inside of those landscapes are understood according to the biases of our perceptions.
In this series, the landscapes have all been constructed: none of these places exist in reality but have been pieced together to create an illusory world. Each photo depicts characters engaged in the inner world of these landscapes through metaphor and surreal narrative.”
The Japanese have a concept called “Ma” which loosely translates to ‘negative space.’ It speaks to that area of space around or between-subjects: a ‘free zone’ that allows dissimilar things to coexist.
Ma says that how we spend our time and how we shape our space, directly impacts our progress. If we have no time, or our space is restricted, then we cannot grow.
When I first moved from the city to the country, I was intimidated by the space I encountered. I was used to being crowded out and hemmed in by the space restrictions of the city, and felt very vulnerable in the wide-open spaces of the country. But it was because of this space that my imagination began to open up, and I was able to conceptualize and create from ideas that may never have occurred to me had I stayed in the city. The countryside gave my artist space to grow and flourish.
I often get asked what overarching message I am trying to convey with my art, and the answer at its most basic level is this: I am trying to create space. In my photography, the space I am attempting to create varies from photo to photo or series to series – very often; it is space that elicits questions without an immediate answer. I portray figures within these spaces, so their identity is not shown – in that way, I am inviting the viewer to place themselves in the scene and inhabit the space.
When it comes to a viewer, my goal is to offer visual space to anyone who may find themselves with an absence of space.
In the crowded information highway of our current world, I hope that my photos might cause a pause, an outbreath, a comma, and, by extension, plant a small seed of space that might one day grow.
And Then You Just Let Go
This is a series about grief. It is dedicated to my mom,
who passed away on October 29th, 2016.
