TABITHA SOREN: Structuring Absence

Tabitha Soren explores the expansive power of photography by pushing its material limits and embracing its unreliable nature. She probes the surface of the photograph to unlock the rich history of the medium and experiments with sculptural and painterly interventions to further complicate the inherent uncertainty of the source. This layered approach underscores not only the bounds of the viewer’s perception but also makes visible the psychological states of Soren’s subject matter, creating a tension between what is seen and what lies underneath.

At Local Language, Soren explored the material opportunities and challenges of printing on unique surfaces, from metal mesh to bedsheets. The expectation of photography to capture a specific moment in time is blurred in both the Structuring Absence and Motherload series. Interfering with the way viewers absorb her work via layered mesh and visible stretcher bars, Structuring Absence requires a viewer to slow down and contemplate a quiet, intimate moment. Motherload intentionally mars the visual field with an accumulated experience (thousands of layered images captured over time), which questions what in our lives impairs our ability to really see.

Structuring Absence by Tabitha Soren

On view October 6th – December 31, 2023