JOAN BENNEY

A series of metaphorical images,
shot with analogue cameras between the years of 2008-2011.



Written about the last image - S in the Springtime

With the arrival of spring this year, I noticed for the first time a grove of wildly flowering trees on the side of the road on my way out to Mt. Finlayson. I watched them continue to blossom over the course of about two weeks, invisioning a portrait of my daughter among them . When her break arrived and she came home for a few days , we set out one afternoon just after the rain . One's aspiration reveals its multifarious layers once embarked upon. In turning up the road which seemed the best way to access the grove we found a garden of ancient classic cars...of all things. Totally unexpected. Many of the blossoms on the trees had fallen with the rain and so my vision of the springtime with Sonja in it became something entirely new.

I chose this image to represent the shoot because of the sense of discovery I felt when I looked through my viewfinder, into the windows of this old chevy in the garden. I could see the layer of winter's empty hawthorns reflected in the weather stained windows , and the menagerie from the past in the old car another layer in between. Finally through to Sonja’s eternal gaze ... and an offshoot of yellow blossoms from the Forsythia tree nearby, a wand in her hand. This is what springtime really feels like I thought to myself . I felt like I had accidentally caught it peering out from the depths of winter , through Sonja's eyes . A transformation forthcoming 





Some of these images were printed at 30 X 40 for the body of work entitled “The Illustrative Portrait” at Concepia Gallery in Friday Harbor, Wa. August 2009.

A Folio of ten images from the series was created and sold in a limited edition, of ten.