Patricia Ridenour

Camille Appropriations

Artist Statement

Artist Statement for Camille Appropriations

When my daughter Camille was born I began to integrate her into my photographic work.  Often this included set design, costuming, props, and concept development.  As she grew older she began to have more input in the process, moving lights, changing poses, and coming up with her own concepts.  Our collaboration ended during the difficult teen years and when she graduated from high school she went to college. 

I came up with the idea of recreating the photographs we made in her childhood as a way of rebuilding the intimacy we shared before her adolescence.  To my delight she agreed to collaborate with me. 

My approach to this body of work is to appropriate the existing images rather than to precisely copy them.  This allows both Camille and I to communicate about our past while exploring new ways of relating with each other through the shared process of art.