Rebecca Silus // Artist Statement // December 1, 2003

I am interested in looking at how buildings and spaces co-exist with their modern counterparts and how that relationship affects us and the spaces we live in. My images are based either in the past or present or a combination of the two. They address the constant fluctuation of structure and space as well as our changing definition of the functionality of those structures and spaces.

My work tends to leave the individual details behind. It is not my intention to factually document scenes and buildings or to plot an exact history of an area. My intent is to work with the present and the past as an impression and to make reference to an area; many of the pieces are based on real places, viewed from an exact location, but do not accurately recall that location. Instead, they remember it as anyone might—easily recalling a structure that is of interest and forgetting what is right next to it. Additionally, the pieces might intentionally leave something out that has actually survived urban renewal while others are an attempt to represent buildings, streets or areas that are not with us at all anymore. This selectivity attempts to explore how a building’s existence or non-existence might change our perception of a place.

In working with the idea that part of our past stays with us through the presence of structures that were built before us- structures that we manipulate for our needs which often differ from the original purpose for which they were built—it is my hope that we see ourselves as the people we are in the present, interacting with what has come before us and redefining our environments to accommodate our needs. Finally, we might also feel our connection to history through the realization that our presence in the world builds off of what has come before and adds to what will be built on in the future.