Marlene MacCallum › Christina Parker Gallery

At the basis of my work is an interest in the visual construction of illusory interior spaces. My conceptual focus for years was the observation and interpretation of the private domestic arena. From 1985-99, my home and immediate environs were the sources for photographic explorations which were then translated into prints and book works. The pinhole series is an example of this. These works demonstrate a formal/phenomenological attraction to the quotidian. In 2000 I expanded my imagery source to include a broader range of architectural types and the connotations created by other peoples’ homes, ruins, defunct industrial spaces, monuments and museums. This resulted in the print suites Cloister and Strange Chambers. In all cases, I approach the architectural spaces as a visual theatre. Objects and spaces function as props and stage. Most recently, I have returned to the observation and interpretation of the private domestic arena. Throughout these bodies of work I aim to create images that encapsulate the sensory and temporal paradoxes we experience in our surroundings. I am also motivated by observations of the bizarre or incongruous in the mundane and my desire to build an archive of these ephemeral experiences.