GWEN MILLER - A rare thing I, II & III
The simplicity of the image reflects a kind of objective looking at something that might be ordinary – a shell picked up. Still, one realizes that this is no ordinary object – it has been manipulated into the well-known symbol of love. Similarly, we are ordinary in our relationships for it is something that is found all over the world, yet, love and commitment is a rare find.
In the process of making, I took a conscious decision to slice the shells with a saw as an act of severance and to reconstruct it as an act of reparation. These hearts thus became a metaphor for the awkward amendments we make in relationships, yet also how this ‘reshaping’ make our relationships very unique. For me the scanning and photographic documentation extended the awareness of the sense of the exceptional, particularly in the way I manipulated the light, contrast and shadows to add presence and atmosphere.
