Copyright Tabitha Soren
Copyright Tabitha Soren
Though we may have the world at our fingertips, often the only thing we have to show for the minutes, hours, days gone by are a trail of greasy swipemarks left behind. Mindlessly, we wipe the evidence away and delve back in, sending and receiving photos, videos, and messages in a never-ending stream of digital consciousness.
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We rarely consider, let alone see, how these actions change the way we perceive reality. Former television journalist Tabitha Soren took notice of this phenomenon one day while on a plane, reading the manuscript for her husband’s latest book on her iPad. When she turned off the machine, she noticed these grimy finger trails all across the surface. She instinctively whipped out her phone to snap a quick photograph, entranced by the marks of where she had “been”.
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This single image became the catalyst for Surface Tension, a series of large-scale photographs that look at how we look, asking us to see beyond the appearance of things. Here, Soren saw an opportunity to reflect on the media we consume, transforming digital detritus into poetic, painterly images of images we might not otherwise see as art, such as America’s two greatest loves: cat videos and porn.
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Soren, who got her start appearing in the Beastie Boys’ landmark 1987 music video, “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party),” rose to fame as an anchor for MTV News, following Bill Clinton on the 1992 Presidential campaign trail, and interviewing controversial figures from Yasser Arafat to Anita Hill. After reaching the pinnacle of success, she decided to go behind the lens. Below, she speaks with us about the life on the other side of the camera.
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Read the Full Story at Dazed Digital
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Copyright Tabitha Soren