Wikipedia defines Hic Sunt Dracones as: (Latin: hic sunt dracones) means dangerous or unexplored territories, in imitation of a medieval practice of putting illustrations of dragons, sea monsters and other mythological creatures on uncharted areas of maps where potential dangers were thought to exist.
Hic Sunt Dracones (Here be Dragons) is a collection of 14 images combined as a photographic novella; the portrayal of a failed relationship photographed as staged scenes in the transformed rooms of an old house. These photographs are drawn from my own experiences - fragments of memories that pierce like blinding sun through window blinds.
I am curious about how couples love one another, hate one another, and how their love decays. With this series, I explore and photograph secret thoughts, passions and incidents, transforming them into a visual representation of epiphanies, misery, desires, and resolutions, with a look to sculptural quality illustrations, Chris Van Allsburg’s surrealistic drawings, and extreme perspective. Heavily symbolic, and at times brutally foreboding, each scene a fleeting fantasy frozen in time or a wounding recollection.
In sequential pieces, each image holds its own story; like forgotten pictures found in an attic. Collectively, they encompass a novella told in still photographs –conflict, climax, and resolution. A third person narrative of the birth and death of a marriage.
Note: Passage for Photo 6 courtesy of M Night Shalaman - "Signs"