We are pleased to be working with a new group of interns this spring, and we want to introduce them to you. From time to time we look forward to hearing their take on our featured artists. In this case, Renuka Retnaswamy, a student from Brooks Institute, is looking at and examining our current exhibition, Object. Read on for her take on our 3D take on a 2D subject.

In my opinion what makes Revolutions interesting is while knowing the identity of the actual object, which you know right off the bat, it is also semi-abstract. This is your laundry spinning with all its glory, it is beautiful. Something as mundane and boring as doing laundry is transformed into a work of art. What is intriguing to me are the faces you see, reminding you of laying in grass looking at clouds and making things in your head, except this time its your dirty laundry and this juxtaposition makes Revolutions, brilliant.

Having had a camera in her hand since she was 10 Yvette tells us that ” Photography has been a passion for most of my life. My photography reflects my interest in people, the narratives of their lives, and the environments that shape them.” This is definitely reflected in her series. There is beauty everywhere, even in a laundromat and the world is transformed into art .Yvette sees the world as such a place.

My favorite piece in the series, is Eye. This looks like the eye of a Beluga whale, It keeps me thinking, how did a giant whale fit into the dryer. What is he doing here? He clearly does not belong in a dryer and the contradiction gets me excited to look at this image for longer.

The images have a very painteresque look and feel to them. The muted tones add to the contemplative nature of the work. We have eight pieces hanging at the gallery, come see the exhibition and get your mind revolutionized into where contemporary photography is headed.

About Revolutions –

I enjoy the convergence of color, light and form that emerges through photography. And I am continually thrilled by how photography often takes me further than my eye can see and sometimes in unexpected directions.

Freshly washed laundry has long stirred in me the possibility of renewal. After taking multitudes of outdoor laundry images over the years, it was February in Chicago when I wondered where I might find laundry to photograph.  My curiosity led me into local Laundromats where I began to explore taking photos. I never imagined what I would ultimately see when I went to the computer to view these digital images. Therein I saw faces and forms – both human and animal-like – and I was hooked.  Capturing the laundry revolving in the clothes dryer presented even more of a rebirth in its transformed state.  Thus was born my “Revolutions” spin on laundry.

What has been most exciting for me has been capturing the abstract forms that have emerged on this journey. As Picasso said, “There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality.” I believe that is what this series does. I start with fabric in a dryer and in collaboration with my camera we transform the reality.

About Yvette –

Photography has been a passion of mine for most of my life. I began taking photographs of my family when I was ten. Next I included my friends as subjects and gradually in my thirties I turned the camera to people I did not know personally.  My photography reflects my interest in people, the narratives of their lives, and the environments that shape them.  Other than two basic black and white photography courses I took 35 years ago, I am self-taught in photography.  After working with black and white film in the darkroom for twenty years I now include color photography in my repertoire and work primarily with a digital camera, having taken almost daily photographs for the last five years.  I worked briefly as a freelance photographer in 1979 – 1980 and then photography took a back seat as I advanced in my career as an educator, a mother, a conflict resolution specialist and mediator.  Now working as a freelance mediator and educational consultant I have more time for photography and the opportunity to turn my passion for photography from a long-time hobby into a profession.

For more information about Yvette, please log onto her website. For a look at Object, stop into the gallery or check out the show online.