Through her work, Amanda Taves explores the transitory nature of identity against the backdrop of an ever-expanding social world. She employs commonplace elements such as dislocated objects, anonymous locations, and techniques typically reserved for criminal investigation to inspire viewer narratives. In her current series, View from a Stranger’s Window, Taves photographs windows located in the communal areas of various citywide estate sales, offering viewer’s the opportunity to play witness to what previous inhabitants would have observed in their private lives. Negotiating the expansive economic, political, and religious topography of Chicago’s disparate communities, this series serves to deconstruct the physical and psychological boundaries segregating the city by placing viewers centrally within the landscape.
Amanda’s work will be on display for our May 2018 exhibition, CounterCulture: Hidden Stories of Chicago Past and Present. More of her work can be found here
Featured work: View from a Strangers Window 10, photograph, 18″ x 12″