the marks we leave behind ...

original photo series.

With the scrap of carpet I found in Dad’s garage, I began thinking about my relationship with him, and what the world would feel like when he passed (he had been sick for 10 or so years at that point). As a photographer, it made sense to go home and start taking photos. The resulting photos are from three separate trips home:

February 19, 2022 — an exploration / rough draft, where I was just seeing what would happen if I photographed the space, what I would find, and how I would feel.
March 15, 2022 — re-shooting and refining the imagery taken in February.
May 28, 2022 — a collaboration with Dad — where he let me take his photo. This was the day that he told me he would be stopping his cancer treatments.

bedside carpet, 1997-2021 | 4’x3’

*Original text about the images: This project is a personal narrative about mourning the loss of my father while he is still alive. It has always been difficult for my father to talk about his past, so most of his story is a mystery to me. As his ability to recall and articulate memories deteriorates, the gaps in the narrative of my family lineage become a sort of folklore. The loss before the loss. Through artifacts, enlarged family snapshots, and photos taken at my parents’ home today, this body of work will navigate the complicated feelings of love for my father and frustration that he is a flawed human.

Portraits, Johnny Earl Strouse | May 28, 2022

the monty hall problem | 3'x2' | March 15, 2022

the marks we leave behind | 20"x28" | March 15, 2022

time, tar, and current | 20"x28" | March 15, 2022

11 oxygen tanks and a BIC lighter | 3'x2' | March 15, 2022

mid-century chair, 2x4 modification | 3'x2' | March 15, 2022

one for the left (hand), one for the right | 3'x2' | March 15, 2022

Cassidy's room | 20"x28" | March 15, 2022

three cigarettes and a Minnesota quarter | 3'x2' | February 19, 2022