Poignant Pics no. 89: On Melanie Walker's "Leaves of Absence"
“When I photograph, what I’m really doing is seeking answers to things.”
Leaves of Absence
Walker is one of my photographic heroes because she frequently pushes the work outside the frame, off the paper, and gives us a multisensory experience. Given that her photographer father, Todd Walker, was well-known for pushing at the edges of photography, it's not surprising that Todd Walker imparted his exploratory nature upon his daughter. Walker grew up in her father's studio, often surrounded by his photographer friends, many of whom we now consider luminaries. Walker uses her talent and challenges with double vision to create works that invite viewers to experience photographic installations as unique transitional worlds of her imagining.
The image I've shown here is from a series Walker made during the pandemic entitled Leaves of Absence. The dried and decayed leaves represent loss, longing, and grief for the millions of lives lost to COVID-19. But knowing how devoted Walker was to her father and now to preserving his photographic legacy, I suspect the work is as much a personal statement as it is a universal one. Walker's father taught her the cyanotype process as a child, and the leaves she used in this series came from a rubber tree plant that once belonged to her father.
The conceptual transformations from picture to object in Walker's work greatly inspire me. For Leaves of Absence, she printed the imagery on fabric, toned it with plant materials, framed it onto bamboo, and dipped it in encaustic. Interestingly, the fabric and dried wax combination imparts similar qualities to the leaf held as a living plant.
I can't wait to see what Walker does next. Bravo, Melanie!
Artist Bio
Melanie Walker is a third generation lens-based artist. Her expertise is in the area of alternative photographic processes, immersive photographic installations and public art. She has received a number of awards including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, Colorado Council on the Arts Fellowship, Polaroid Materials Grants and the Aaron Siskind Award. Her work is housed in numerous collections including the CCP Tucson, LACMA, and the Musee National d’art in Luxembourg.
Author Bio
Diana Nicholette Jeon is an award-winning artist based in Honolulu, HI, who works primarily with lens-based media. Her work has been seen both internationally and nationally in solo and group exhibitions. Jeon holds an MFA from UMBC.