Dani Standley

Artist Statement

 

As of late my medium of choice is photography. I find myself comparing my memories to a worn out camera lens. There is a series of images in my mind. Some of these images are more lucid, while others are somewhat distorted. I am a nostalgic being, prone to depressive episodes. I reflect a great deal on the past and as a result tend to rehash traumatic experiences in my work. This has served both as a means of introspection and as a means of growth. In my work I am exploring the challenges I faced as a child and the menacing forces that plague me even now as an adult.

 

The photographs I take border on the surreal and the ordinary from the perspective that the photographs are often lifelike in content and yet in some way dreamlike in presentation. Some of my photographs mimic paintings, similar to a painter’s implementation of chiaroscuro. The photographs imitate the dark and light aspects of the mind. Other photographs I have altered are transparent and tend to emulate x-rays. The transparent photos produce an almost outer body experience for the viewer; each phantomlike photograph embodies the sometimes distorted perceptions we have of ourselves and others.