"a simple slice of essence" is a documentary photography series of the cluttered and unorganized spaces in my house. I created "a simple sight of essence" to illustrate the personal struggle I’ve had with keeping my house clean. I consider myself very lucky to have a place of my own, but the demands on my time and the responsibilities in my life has resulted in my house not receiving the time and attention it needs. It’s a struggle that I am overcoming, albeit very slowly, but I am very aware on how it has affected other aspects of my life. For a time, I wasn’t having anyone over because I was ashamed with the unorganized state of the rooms in my house (my Mother still isn’t allowed in my house – yet). And it has affected my ability to produce artwork. My garage, as well as my den and studio are supposed to be places where I can work on my art, but in the unorganized state they are in that has not been possible for me to do effectively.
By documenting my mess with photographs like those in "a simple slice of essence," I am not only creating a work of art, but also a reminder to myself of the fine line I am walking between being unorganized and being a hoarder. Right now, my place is not a write-off, it honestly is not as bad as what you might find on A&E - the main living floor of my house (consisting of my kitchen, dining area, living room and master bedroom), is clean, organized and livable. I also work to ensure that the areas that are messy never get to the point where I’d end up with damage to my house (like rot), nor have I ever had any insect or vermin infestations. And emergency officials can easily get into my place. But I do see how it would be very easy to fall into that kind of an abyss.
