Hy•st•er•ia: Body As Battleground

• Prize
  Silver in Fine Art/Collage
• Photographer
  Diane Fenster
• Technical Info
  Lumen Prints Of Dresses Combined With Additional Photographic Elements
• Photo Date
  2018

Last year I was diagnosed with Stage 1 endometrial cancer and had to undergo a complete hysterectomy. I embarked upon this series in an attempt to fathom the emotional and physical changes that my body is going through. The dress is the center stage upon which this drama unfolds and also speaks to my sense of a lost femininity. Symbols from a tarot card reading pertaining to my surgical and psychological outcome along with photographs of my body and medical procedures are some of the actors in my performance.

I view myself as an alchemist, using alternative process, antique photographic methods, toy camera and digital tools to delve into fundamental human conditions and issues. My work is literary and emotional, full of symbolism and multiple layers of meaning with a style that marries photography with evocative and fragmented imagery. Currently, I am exploring several antiquarian processes including lumen printing and photo-encaustic. My work (exhibited since 1990) first received notice during the era of early experimentations with digital imaging and has appeared in numerous publications.