In 2017, I had a heart attack. My doctor told me that it was a significant heart attack and I spent days recovering in the hospital’s cardiac unit. But I didn’t really grasp the seriousness of the event at the time. After a few weeks it dawned on me that it could very well have been a fatal event. I began thinking about the “what-ifs”, which soon turned to obsessive thoughts about life and death and what it all meant.
I had been exploring a new interest in landscape photography before all of this took place. Realizing that I needed to focus on life in the here and now, I started photographing again at some local sites. I became fascinated with the bare trees covered with gnarled vines. I perceived an anatomical visual quality to them that I wanted to explore. The twists and tangles of the vines and branches also seemed analogous to the chaos in my head. They became forms to contemplate, puzzles to solve, maps to decipher, and iconography to translate – a way to process the thoughts on mortality that occupied my mind. Slowing down to closely examine these vines through photographing them, processing the images and finally making the prints, helped me to untangle my thoughts. The gestures of the trees welcomed me into a place in which I could explore my feelings and resolve issues. These photographs are documents of that process.
These pigment prints on kozo paper incorporate collage and mixed media; some include hand coloring.
ABOUT JANET MATTHEWS
Janet is a Maryland-based artist who explores psychological themes through evocative still life and landscape images. She graduated from the University of Maryland, earning degrees in Studio Art and Art Education. Her background in drawing and painting has influenced her approach to photography, as she often incorporates hands-on methods into her work. She taught art in the Montgomery County Public Schools system for a number of years, and has also taught classes at Photoworks in Glen Echo Park in Maryland.
Janet has exhibited her work nationally, in group and solo shows. Her work has been featured in numerous books and publications including Polymer Photogravure: A Step-by-Step Manual by Clay Harmon and Seeing in Sixes by Brooks Jensen and Maureen Gallagher. She was awarded Individual Artist Award grants by the Maryland State Arts Council in 2012 and 2015, and her work is in the collections of the University of Maryland and the Montgomery County Arts and Humanities Council.
Website: janetmatthewsphotography.com
Instagram: @janetmatthewsphotography
CREDITS
Unless otherwise stated, all words and images in this article are © Janet Matthews
