#29 from the series, Desolation's Comfort | Mark Lindsay
Most of the work I do in photomontage is a mystery. I find photos of enigmatic and interesting characters, live with them, file them, bring them out again, digitize them and restore them. Then one day, one (or more) of the characters speak to me. Then I move them into a new world of my imagination. Years ago they'd probably have medicated me (or maybe worse). Today I'm just an eccentric artist.
Only much later do the resulting montages begin to make sense. Often, I prefer to let others figure out what they mean. It seems sort of a waste of time for me to explain them to the degree that some would prefer. One thing, however, has me thinking. I seem to have this predilection for choosing pairs of women, standing side-by-side for my photomontage subjects. And it's not just pairs of women—they have this macabre eeriness about them. Most people say something like, "EEEEW, The Shining!" when the see them, in reference to the creepy, twin ghosts of that movie. Yes, I've seen the film a dozen times and maybe it has been an influence. But, the fascination with odd, little pairs of women, standing there in a snapshot, somehow strikes a chord with me. And most everyone else responds to them as well.
Maybe it's the way I re-contextualize them that evokes the reaction. Perhaps I simply choose the most interesting (oddest) pairs I can find. For whatever reason, these images get more reaction from viewers than all others. Diane Arbus proved that we all have a fascination for the strange and misplaced of this world. I'm not sure I could stand a whole gallery of these girl-pairs but they certainly spice things up.
Your thoughts and therapeutic analysis are encouraged.