Michael Ashkin Statement

Constructed Photographs

These paintings on cardboard and sandpaper are made with spray paint and hand-cut templates. I think of them as an extension of photography. Because we both see the world and photograph it through the lens of our symbolic order, I thought I might turn that lens inward to produce images from iconic remembrance rather than the strictly visible. Because spray paint produces effects that feel convincingly photographic, I imagined that I was actually making photographs. Hence, I considered these paintings constructed photographs.