Artist Information:
Tim Porter
Tokyo,
Japan
Member Since: Aug 2009
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Artist Statement:
In 1988, Tokyo-based
photographer Tim Porter gained
access through
special permission to a very
privileged space: the Sirirai
Hospital in
Bangkok, Thailand. For one
week only, he had the
opportunity to
photograph surreal specimens
of humanity – conjoined twins.
Preserved
in formaldehyde and kept in
the collection of the Congdon
Anatomical
Museum, Porter carefully shot
his subjects through their
glass
cocoons, eliminating all
traces of location, time and
place.
At first glance, the viewer is
presented with series of
portraits of
children. At closer
inspection, the figures become
grotesque, horrific
and sad. More is quickly
revealed, only to take you to
a place you
wouldn’t normally go… What was
once briefly a portrait of two
children
in a warm embrace becomes a
jarring image of conjoined
twins, either
still at birth or not carried
to term. Signifiers such as
the texture
of the skin, the development
of the skeletal structure, the
shapes of
the limbs, eyes or heads all
snap us into the reality of
the subject
matter before us. The more
“normal” figures are the more
abstract – we
tend to humanize these easily
identifiable figures of
children. But it
is the disfigured bodies,
those conjoined in devastating
ways, ...
Further Information
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Artist Exhibitions:
Solo Exhibitions:
2009 Tim Porter: Still Lives,
La Petite Mort Gallery, Ottawa
2001 Paradise: The Gardens of
Tokyo, International House of
Japan
1998 Language, The Polaroid
Gallery, Tokyo
1980 Night Waves, Canon
Gallery, Tokyo Nagoya,
Hiroshima, Osaka
1978 DMZ, Nikon Gallery,
Tokyo
1977 A Certain Slant t of
Light, Photographers ...
Further Information
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Artist Reviews:
Coming Soon!
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Collections:
Canadian Museum of
Contemporary Photography,
Ottawa, Canada
The Polaroid International
Collection, Cambridge, U.S.A.
Teutloff Photo + Video
Collection, Bielefeld, Germany
Canada Council Art Bank,
Ottawa, Canada...
Further Information
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Commissions:
Coming Soon!
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Tim Porter's Free Artist Portfolio
Welcome to Tim Porter's Portfolio.
In 1988, Tokyo-based photographer Tim Porter gained access through
special permission to a very privileged space: the Sirirai Hospital in
Bangkok, Thailand. For one week only, he had the opportunity to
photograph surreal specimens of humanity – conjoined twins. Preserved
in formaldehyde and kept in the collection of the Congdon Anatomical
Museum, Porter carefully shot his subjects through their glass
cocoons, eliminating all traces of location, time and place.
At first glance, the viewer is presented with series of portraits of
children. At closer inspection, the figures become grotesque, horrific
and sad. More is quickly revealed, only to take you to a place you
wouldn’t normally go… What was once briefly a portrait of two children
in a warm embrace becomes a jarring image of conjoined twins, either
still at birth or not carried to term. Signifiers such as the texture
of the skin, the development of the skeletal structure, the shapes of
the limbs, eyes or heads all snap us into the reality of the subject
matter before us. The more “normal” figures are the more abstract – we
tend to humanize these easily identifiable figures of children. But it
is the disfigured bodies, those conjoined in devastating ways, ... |
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