to return [2005-2006]
the black river [2005-2006]
This body of work began with the discovery of letters from friends, family and exes in my damp basement. These letters were about 30 years old and had been written to me when I left Texas for Chicago and graduate school. They were torn and stained and moldy and they smelled. Not knowing what else to do, I took them to my studio .
I ended up with 43 works ( Post , PackerSchopf Gallery, December - January 2006 ) that use the letters as starting points. I didn't want to lose or argue with what was already present - the way the writing moved across the page, repetitively and rhythmically, or how the body of the text sat within the edges of the paper and created a kind of visual "hum" - so I started with a very simple formal vocabulary. (These formal limits ultimately became more of a tool rather than a stylistic imperative as process insisted on itself. As it always seems to do for me... ) I also was very clear that I didn't want there to be a voyeuristic element to the work, so the words and sentences are obscured to some degree. (continue reading on annworthing.com)
