is a collaboration between Paula Josa-Jones and photographer and poet, Pam White, who is also married to Paula. What follows is Pam's description of that project and experience.
Paula Josa-Jones and I had an artist residency in Palenville, NY. On the property was an old mansion long abandoned that had been a residence and lastly a convent.
We were scouting the grounds for photographic settings and saw the raccoon leavings, broken mirrors and abandoned religious crosses within the setting of many small rooms and long corridors as the perfect backdrop for our shoot.
Paula called her videographer to come out for a couple of days, and we made movie and still photography with Paula's costumes, movement and direction.
The resulting photography became a show to which were added poems by Pam and the poet Carol Dine. The film became Paula and Ellen's videodance collaboration, DIVE.
The intensity of media and setting showcased feelings of hope (the mansion) and abandonment (the convent). I suppose raccoons merit feelings of hope and going with the flow of the moment. I don't know who put the "NO" up, but when we saw it, we knew the relationship to its environs was set. The reflection of today's political world is complete. We say "NO! We're not going back!"
These photos are all 20" x 24" printed by me (Pam) on silver gelatin photographic paper. It took a long time to print photos of this size in my darkroom, and it happened that I printed the last batch after we moved to Martha's Vineyard and just as Princess Diana's death was mourned and then that of Mother Theresa. Two souls who are with us to this day. May they make their marks for us.All silver giclee photographs are for sale from the artist. Contact Pam White
