Entire Unto Myself
Observer
Photograph by Damian Munoz
“Observer” introduces the exhibition “Entire Unto Myself”. It is a series of five prints.
Each depicts a silhouette within a silhouette. The figures are filled with and surrounded by landscapes, city scapes, and in one, an explosion of color.
This layering represents the experience of consciousness, the only internal experience, or it depicts the foundation of experiences which make a person an individual.
Some of the silhouettes sit cross legged, others walk with arms open, mark art, and play with a dog on the beach. All these photos were taken when the subject was unaware of the photographer.
The figure is observed by the viewer, as is the collage of the external worlds within.
Self Portrait 2019
Photographs by Damian Munoz
Self Portrait 2019 further investigates my scars which were previously the subject of “The Marks We Leave” and its continued explorations, as well as two currently untitled pieces. One is a smashed glass bubble repaired, with the pieces held apart, by copper wire. The second is a self portrait made in 2016.
The work consists of 100 bouquets of kiln glass flowers spread across two of the gallery’s walls. They are arranged in the shape of my scars.
Stepping away from the figural, the pale, flesh like colors are all that is left to reference the body. Even the scale defies that of the human figure, extending to the ceiling in multiple places. The scars become a monument.
Those unfamiliar with my scars are drawn in by the scale of the piece and the detail of the delicate flowers. Their placement is deliberate, and the viewer is left to wonder at the significance.
And To Say That . . .
Photographs by Damian Munoz
View the text of “And To Say That…” by clicking the PDF icon to the right. (Opens in a new window.)
“And to Say That…” is a modified form of black out poetry, where a new poem is created by “blacking out” parts of another work, creating a new meaning through the unaltered fragments. In this piece eleven different quotes and poems are altered instead of one.
The poem “And to Say That” opens with original words and also repeats the phrase “And to Say That…” occasionally breaking a single author’s quote into multiple fragments.
The letters of this poem are made of vinyl adhered to the gallery wall. The new poem is created with black text while the original works are still included using slightly off white lettering. The difference in texture between the white wall and the vinyl further helps with legibility.