Stills from video documentation of Cradle scratched photographs
Cradle (1) (2002) (scratched photograph)
Cradle (2) (2002) (scratched photograph)
Cradle (3) (2002) (scratched photograph)
Cradle (4) (2002) (scratched photograph)

These larger scale photographs are the first in an on-going series sharing the method of tracing the face and head with a compass with the smaller scale Capture (2001) series. The Cradle series presents these individuals in life-size proportions.

The scale of the photographs offers the viewer the opportunity to examine at close quarters the intricacies of the scratched line. In each of these works the figures are caught at a moment of seeming introspection and focused thought; the poignancy of these moments counterbalances the mundane nature of the urban context they are in. The gesture of mapping their faces with further lines could be construed as an act of violence yet has a paradoxical tenderness and intimacy as the web of lines forms a cradle to hold their particular features and expressions. These markings are an attempt to elevate the individuals above the street in which they have been spied.