Jo Ann Callis Morphe Series VINTAGE Gelatin Silver PrintS

"This image came about because I was interested in the ambiguity of meaning and of space. It was a way of calling attention to the fact that a reclining body with eyes closed can appear dead, or appears to be sleeping and dreaming peacefully. There is an element of fear in these photographs, juxtaposed with beauty." - Jo Ann Callis

In contrast to the artist’s earliest explorations of the nude, the Morphe series presents black-and-white studies featuring a model partially immersed in water. In this particular image, a floral-patterned cloth drifts across the surface, joined by the faint reflections of surrounding plants. Depending on the viewer’s perspective, the human figure in these shadowed scenes may evoke either the stillness of death or the serenity of dreaming.