David R Miller

Photograph (C-type)

20" x 16"

Behind a forgotten door, a door wood-paneled to blend seamlessly with a wood-paneled wall, lies a cool darkness. Muted mumblings, exhausted posturing and the slowly gathering horror of a long lost eternity have infused the air. The Prosopagnosia Suite is populated by aristocratic debris, emerging from the burr walnut veneer, cobwebbed, smoke ridden and gnarled. These forgotten faces, barely recognisable; the has-beens and the never-weres, were the figures behind the scenes or the facades engrained in history.

The portraits are discovered in the veneer after long periods staring at the swirling grain and tones of the wood. Following lines in the grain, the background is painted out in dark oils, revealing a motley collection of portraits. The result is then photographed and printed in black and white. For me this practice is reminiscent of laying in bed as a child, with the dim orange light of a suburban nighttime seeping through the curtains, transfixed by the landscapes, figures and faces hidden in the 1930’s burr walnut wardrobe at my grandparents house.