If one of the great powers of photography is the staving off of loss...of places, persons, or times, then to transcend that loss is to remain connected to the essence of something lost we (now) see in those images. But what is in those images—those of particular importance to us? What is underneath ancestors and loved ones’ likenesses? What is felt or unconsciously known when we look at these ghosts? Is there a language or communication in this photographic form? This last question is the most interesting of all. This is where my work directs me.

I was strongly influenced by both Roland Barthes and John Tagg as I began work on this series. The series has been revisited, revised, and expanded over the past fourteen years.