Lost and Found, (Dolls)

My Square Foot Studio work has increasingly changed what and how I see.

For years I focused on the marks of time and elements on the natural and manmade environments. Large and small objects carried their changing marks of time over the years as I returned to certain locations. 

The limits on travel resulting from the pandemic forced me to work in very different ways. At first, I pushed back against the restrictions but as I watched the light moving through its daily path across our sun porch, an idea formed. I “borrowed” a stem from the vase, fully intending to return it but instead, I photographed it up close until the last petal fell away from the stem. 

I saw these objects as larger-than-life-sized, isolated against a solid black background, to be examined closely. Making such large prints required a steep (and expensive) learning curve but the final prints made it worth it.

When traveling was possible again, I brought my Square Foot Studio. Rephotographing the dolls in this way resulted in this portfolio. Isolating the objects in a neutral background, using only natural light, my objective was for the viewer to see them from across the room and be pulled in by eyes, just as I am.

The eyes are described to me as strange, haunting, and scary. I continue seeking to understand their hold on me and others. With more questions than answers, I know I have more work to do with this subject. 

Tillman Crane

2024