Work samples

  • from In A Matter of Time, Sargent Smith, Army Recruiting Camp circa WWI (23.17.09)
    from In A Matter of Time, "Sargent Smith," Army Recruiting Camp circa WWI (23.17.09)

    Black and white gelatin silver print from medium format negative.

  • from In A Matter of Time, To a Swell Old Friend, Summer Camp 1940 (23.12.05)
    from In A Matter of Time, "To a Swell Old Friend," Summer Camp 1940 (23.12.05)

    Black and white gelatin silver print from medium format negative.

  • Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress single channel video collaboration with Catherine Borg
    Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress single channel video collaboration with Catherine Borg

    Digital photograph from a sequence of images showing the garage door opening to the funeral home.

  • Still from Memory Foam, a single channel video installation, 2022
    Still from Memory Foam, a single channel video installation, 2022

    Digital photograph from a sequence in the video showing globes in a variety of domestic settings.

About Lynn

Living and working overseas for over two decades brought Lynn into contact with a variety of people and social situations.  She relished the cultural differences encountered in each of the countries that she called home. Settling in was not just a matter of figuring out local logistics, but more importantly, immersing herself in the history and artistic heritage of the country.more

In a Matter of Time, 2020-present

Several years ago, while sorting through boxes of family photographs with a view to culling the collection of images, I discovered an assortment of tightly rolled photographic scrolls. These scrolls, depicting groups of campers, rows of school children, and adults sitting at dining tables, were taken decades ago with a wide-angle banquet camera. My interest in these vintage photographs eventually expanded to cover other commemorative events such as an assembly of newly recruited soldiers during WWI.
  
Back in the studio, I began to strategically unfurl and rotate these scrolls, sometimes lighting both the front and back of the image, as a way of revealing simultaneously the photograph and autographs scribbled on the back. The landscape framing the edges of the picture was also of interest, suggesting ways of manipulating the scroll to emphasize its presence.
 
Given the relationship a photograph inevitably has with the past, my desire is to focus on the act of remembering. The contortions of the scrolls—the twisting, curling, and blurring during exposure—mirror the fragility of memory. My manipulation of the scrolls attempts to evoke how the gap between the photograph and memory continues to widen as the time when the picture was taken recedes further into the past. For the viewer, these individuals who have long since passed, are destined to reside forever in a virtual world of sport stadiums, sumptuous table settings, and forests as the physical photographs face an uncertain future.

  • from In A Matter of Time, Summer Camp 1937 (20.43.03)
    from In A Matter of Time, Summer Camp 1937 (20.43.03)

    Black and white gelatin silver print from medium format negative, 23 x 18 1/2 inches

  • from In A Matter of Time, Phyllis Greenburg, Junior High School 1941 (23.05.06)
    from In A Matter of Time, "Phyllis Greenburg," Junior High School 1941 (23.05.06)

    Black and white gelatin silver print from medium format negative, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • from In A Matter of Time, Summer Camp n.d. (23.09.02)
    from In A Matter of Time, Summer Camp n.d. (23.09.02)

    Black and white gelatin silver print from medium format negative, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • from In a Matter of Time, Cabin, Summer Camp n.d. (20.22.16)
    from In a Matter of Time, Cabin, Summer Camp n.d. (20.22.16)

    Black and white gelatin silver print from medium format negative, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • from In a Matter of Time, Loads of Love to You, Summer Camp 1940 (20.39.01)
    from In a Matter of Time, "Loads of Love to You," Summer Camp 1940 (20.39.01)

    Black and white gelatin silver print from medium format photograph, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • from In a Matter of Time, Betty Ferris, Junior High School 1941 (20.19.11)
    from In a Matter of Time, "Betty Ferris," Junior High School 1941 (20.19.11)

    Black and white gelatin silver print from medium format negative, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • from In A Matter of Time, Don't Forget 1940, Summer Camp 1940 (20.16.09)
    from In A Matter of Time, "Don't Forget 1940," Summer Camp 1940 (20.16.09)

    Black and white gelatin silver photograph from medium format negative, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • from In Matter of Time, Summer Camp 1938 (20.15.11)
    from In Matter of Time, Summer Camp 1938 (20.15.11)

    Black and white gelatin silver print from medium format negative, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • from In a Matter of Time, First Love 1938 (20.17.11)
    from In a Matter of Time, First Love 1938 (20.17.11)

    Black and white gelatin silver print from medium format photograph, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • from In a Matter of Time, High School 1967 (20.35.01)
    from In a Matter of Time, High School 1967 (20.35.01)

    Black and white gelatin silver print from medium format negative, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

Between Death and..., a work-in-progress single channel video collaboration with Catherine Borg

These stills are a selection from a video, Between Death and... (working title), a collaboration with Catherine Borg.  The numbered images roughly corresponds to their appearance in the narrative. 

In 2022, Catherine and I were commissioned to document 108 West North Avenue, a stately row house built in 1878 that served the neighborhood as a funeral parlor from 1914-2021. The location, exterior facade, and interior layout of the building provide the loose narrative structure that emerges in the video. We are creating the same evocative sense of liminality in our video that we encountered repeatedly in the space as we explored aspects of the building dedicated to handling bodies after death, celebrating and mourning the deceased, as well as the business-side of dying. In addition to still photographs, the video makes use of slow-motion footage, drone and time lapse imagery.

  • 1) Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress video
    1) Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress video

    Digital photograph, variable dimensions 

  • 2) Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress video
    2) Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress video

    Digital photograph, variable dimensions

  • 3) Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress video
    3) Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress video

    Digital photograph, variable dimensions

  • 4) Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress video
    4) Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress video

    Digital photograph, variable dimensions

  • 5) Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress video
    5) Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress video

    Digital photograph, variable dimensions

  • 6) Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress video
    6) Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress video

    Digital photograph, variable dimensions

  • 7) Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress video
    7) Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress video

    Digital photograph, variable dimensions

  • 8) Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress video
    8) Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress video

    Digital photograph, variable dimensions

  • 9) Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress video
    9) Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress video

    Digital photograph, variable dimensions

  • 10) Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress video
    10) Still from Between Death and..., a work-in-progress video

    Digital photograph, variable dimensions

Memory Foam, 2022

Single channel video, 13'51"

Using animated black and white photographs with sound, Memory Foam depicts an imaginary dwelling that is a composite of views assembled from 26 different homes.  The soundtrack, composed by Jason Sloan, is drawn from audio recordings of the sound generated by the electromagnetic field unique to each light source depicted in the video.

For most of us, “home” connotes an intimate space and, as such, may be thought of as a reflection of the self.  The video attempts to blur the boundary between the individual and the world through shared experiences as evidenced, for instance, in the overlapping infrastructure collaged from several basements or the ubiquitous framed photographs of family and friends that appear throughout the video.  Animals and plants thrive in this house, too.  Clock faces serve as pauses or intervals between groups of images.  The presence of digital technology explores how our personal environment is increasingly mediated and monitored by technology.

Memory Foam is a unique way of investigating the interface between still imagery, animation, and sound.  Throughout the film, light and sound are the connecting threads as the camera makes its way from the basement foundation to the attic eaves, highlighting details of domestic life and love along the way.

  • Memory Foam
  • Memory Foam, installation view
    Memory Foam, installation view

    Variable dimensions

Relative Time 2015-present

Landscape and national identity are inextricably linked.  The United States’ incredible geographical diversity continues to be an ongoing subject for artists and storytellers.  Like mounds and pyramids, cemeteries are part of a larger story narrating the impact humans continue to have on the landscape.
 
Scrolling through countless maps on Google, mile by mile, I discovered that every state in the contiguous US has at least one cemetery situated on, or within a few hundred feet, to a state line.  This realization was critical in providing a focus to the project.  I like to think of Relative Time as a kind of national survey of these border cemeteries.  More than a straightforward typology of cemeteries, I hope the photographs reflect my varied responses to the details found each cemetery and the site’s relation to the greater environment.
 
Like a surveyor, my tripod is grounded in the cemetery with the camera lens directed towards the neighboring state.  Adopting this position was critical in thinking about the invisible lines that divides swaths of land into separate states.  Although there may be considerable political divisions between states, the landscape is generally contiguous, a large plot of land that we all share.

  • North Carolina-Tennessee Border
    North Carolina-Tennessee Border

    Archival digital print, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • Alabama-Tennessee Border
    Alabama-Tennessee Border

    Archival digital print, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • Tennessee-Virginia Border
    Tennessee-Virginia Border

    Archival digital print, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • Georgia-Tennessee Border
    Georgia-Tennessee Border

    Archival digital print, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • Minnesota-North Dakota Border
    Minnesota-North Dakota Border

    Archival digital print, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • Iowa-Missouri Border
    Iowa-Missouri Border

    Archival digital print, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • Michigan-Ohio Border
    Michigan-Ohio Border

    Archival digital print, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • Wyoming-Nebraska Border
    Wyoming-Nebraska Border

    Archival digital print, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • Ohio-Indiana Border
    Ohio-Indiana Border

    Archival digital print, 18 1/2 x 23"

  • Pennsylvania-New York Border
    Pennsylvania-New York Border

    Archival digital print, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

Lifelines, 1994-present

The conveyance of energy is a fundamental concern in Lifelines, my ongoing series of photographs depicting electric cords.  Collecting and rewiring old cables that have been repaired many times, I am struck by the effort to ensure the flow of electricity before they are finally thrown away.

At least one of the cables shown in the image powers the light source that illuminates the scene.  Like the activity of drawing which employs line and shading, the cable may change its identity from a crisp line to a faint trace as if it was a ray, wave, particle, halo or flare of light.  The narrative aspect of the cord’s trajectory and the use of everyday materials impart a palpable quality to the light.  My rendering of the cord is a way of giving life to light.

  • Warning (Lifeline 09.19.05)
    Warning (Lifeline 09.19.05)

    Black and white gelatin silver print from medium format negative, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • Lifeline 94.47.12
    Lifeline 94.47.12

    Black and white gelatin silver print from medium format negative, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • Landscape after the Battle (Lifeline 17.01.08)
    Landscape after the Battle (Lifeline 17.01.08)

    Black and white gelatin silver print from medium format negative, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • Lifelines 09.10.12
    Lifelines 09.10.12

    Black and white gelatin silver print from medium format negative, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • Lifeline 06.18.06
    Lifeline 06.18.06

    Black and white gelatin silver print from medium format negative, 23 x 18 1/2 inches

  • Crossing the Desert (Lifeline 10.11.07)
    Crossing the Desert (Lifeline 10.11.07)

    Black and white gelatin silver print from medium format negative, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • Hold On (Lifeline 18.03.08)
    Hold On (Lifeline 18.03.08)

    Black and white gelatin silver print from medium format negative, 23 x 18 1/2 inches

  • Let Go (Lifeline 18.05.05)
    Let Go (Lifeline 18.05.05)

    Black and white gelatin silver print from medium format negative, 23 x 18 1/2 inches

  • Below the Surface (Lifeline 06.26.02)
    Below the Surface (Lifeline 06.26.02)

    Black and white gelatin silver print from medium format negative, 18 1/2 x 23 inches

  • Soldier On (Lifeline 19.08.09)
    Soldier On (Lifeline 19.08.09)

    Black and white gelatin silver print from medium format negative, 18 1/2 x 23 inches