In But Not Of: Tiffany Shelly

"This is it." says a large portrait of a woman who looks out at me defiant that I am seeing her this way. As I look further I see that she is being pulled, pursued, trapped by this fabric that is so graceful and yet sinister in such a way that it becomes a character, a persona with attributes I can't quite put my finger on. I ask myself if I should feel frightened by it...but she is not, in fact she seems to dominate it at times. Her fingers grip the unruly thought, a controlling movement that still exudes beauty. The spaces she resides in are so familiar, tiny totems I can latch onto for certainty but the walls are white-washed and the floor drops out from under me and I am left in limbo... as she is. As I look at these photographs I am left to settle on empty rooms, maybe this is where she will go next, but I become caught in them. "It is inevitable" she says, "This room will wait for you." I will be pulled and pushed, the ceiling will disappear and where I thought I was will be nothing like it is. In the last frame the woman brings the curtain to the windows ledge...perhaps to take it with her.

But of course, this is the world that I imagine when I look at this work, it is as beautiful as it is provoking. Nice work Tiffany!
xoxo,
Charlie