Fragments of New York: focus on the eye

Looking back at the images I took in New York in May and thinking about some of the themes that emerge, I’m aware that there is a series where my attention has been drawn to one eye. Below is a found street abstract comprised of torn poster layers and glue residue. Over the years I’ve taken many street abstracts featuring torn posters – I’m interested in the effects of time on these previously intact images, and appreciate the way the process of change results in collage-like abstracts. In this image I like the pretty pink and flashes of yellow against the more gritty and urban grey and black, and the one eye, with its shimmering gold shadow and glamorous mascara-laden lashes, framed by the black brow and several wispy curls:

Here’s another torn street abstract, with some additional purple graffiti and pink heart framed in black. The one eye is recognisable – the iconic Michael Jackson – probably an image of him from the 80s. I like the different textures and the pixelated quality of the facial fragment.

Here’s another one-eyed found abstract from that trip, again a mix of torn paper layers and applied paint, creating a colourful collage:

This image of a mural in New York has a third eye to focus on:

And this found image taken on the side of a trash can in the East Village has a repeat motif: a triptych of a facial mid section resulting in three pairs of eyes:

 

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