In the Presence of a Ghost

in the presence of a ghost

works by Travis Wagner

What began as an intuitive exploration of materials, this body of work led me to think poetically about the autonomy of the materials. Flax as a paper making fiber exists in a beautifully strange dichotomy of strength and weakness, where the binding strength of the fiber allows for the paper sheets to be pulled as very thin and delicate sheets. Strength becomes a place to be weak. I also very specifically explored the poetic nature of residue, and the necessity of absence to have the said residue. This trail of thought connected several 'object to residue' parallel relationships, namely memory being the residue of an event, and a ghost being the residue of a person.

In the presence of a ghost invokes the chilling notion of sharing a space with an apparition. Rusty shadows of absent objects have been cast over shards of reconstructed glass with a delicate sensibility that summons the warmth of a sweet memory rather than the stifling anxiety that comes from the company of the dead. The residue of objects that once were conjures a faint reference to an abstract landscape, while the layered images give abstruse references to the hauntings of former pictures. The presence of the ‘warm and sweet’ memory lingers in the carefully fashioned book-like objects that have an existence functioning somewhere between artifact and memorial. Their inherent tactility gives life and physical indicators to the haunting of the before mentioned apparition, and you find yourself in the presence of a ghost.

In the Presence of a Ghost

Powdered Charcoal and Gesso Wash on Duralar 

Detail: