Dissecting the Family is a show that is inspired by my family, it’s dynamics and the experiences that I wanted to understand and creatively express. The family theme has interested me ever since. My everyday family and our activities became much more interesting when I took the time to analyze it.

Later, I began to expand on this theme by photographing unstructured, spontaneous scenes of daily activities at my parents house and at family get-togethers. I even went as far as re-photographing old family photographs so I could composition them the way I felt made them stronger and expressed my feelings towards the subjects in a more personal nature. These awkward compositions became much more interesting for me to visually dissect. Of course, I still do structured portraits, but I realized that the unstructured pieces were just as complex. It helps me to understand and deal with my family and our relationships, visually and emotionally.

Eventually I transformed the frame context into my mixed media boxes. The boxes are just another form in which I can organize family. This is how I dissect, analyze and understand the relationships between these people. Issues such as childhood innocence and the changes that come with growing older are prevalent through these pieces, themes of family events and experiences are also present. The boxes use photographs and found objects to symbolize these issues. Ultimately the frames that surround both my photographs, and are also symbolized in my boxes, are a way to control and understand the life that surrounds me everyday.

Sara L. Compton