“Hope” Along with the physical and formal matter of the fruit and every day objects, 17th and 18th century Still Life paintings are commonly related to concepts of life, death, and the futility of earthly goods. In the “Hope” series, I took various fruits and broke them, only to reconstruct them as well as I could. It is an introspection on traditional Still Life themes with the addition of a challenge reflecting on the trials of life and one’s constant struggle to “keep it together”. “Hope” is intended to question the viewer on what they are seeing and what might have happened to the classically posed yet oddly dismantled/reassembled fruit and to develop one’s own narrative. The simple premise at the center of the project is that the more complex something is, the harder it is to put back together once it falls apart. Although it applies to fruits rather literally, it can also be said of situations, emotions, and people. It is very difficult to come to understand that once something has
been broken it will never be fully restored to its original form. Nevertheless this harsh reality comes with a silver lining: a potential for transformation into something new. In that sense, the process through which I go as the photographer/initiator is more important than the final photographs. The fruit included in the project ranges from complex, an onion with its many layers for example, to fruit that seems simpler like apples and bananas. For each piece of fruit I attempted to put back together, it was found that there had to be different types materials (tape, rubber bands, and toothpicks) that would be better suited for the task. In some circumstances I had to use all three materials. In others, the reassembled fruit only needed toothpicks. Some fruits were complete failures. A plain white background was placed under the fruit to emphasize their tones and shadows so there were no distractions, just a simple fruit and the complexity of its disrupted shape.
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- Josh Gomke
“The sudden disappointment of a hope leaves a scar which the ultimate fulfillment of that hope never entirely removes.� Thomas Hardy
“If you knew that hope and despair were paths to the same destination, which would you choose?� Robert Brault
“Hope itself is a species of happiness, and, perhaps, the chief happiness which this world affords; but, like all other pleasures immoderately enjoyed, the excesses of hope must be expiated by pain.� Samuel Johnson
“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come.� Anne Lamott
“All it takes is one bloom of hope to make a spiritual garden.� Terri Guillemets
“Hope is putting faith to work when doubting would be easier.” Unknown
“There is nothing so well known as that we should not expect something for nothing - but we all do and call it Hope.� Edgar Howe
“Hope is necessary in every condition. The miseries of poverty, sickness, of captivity, would, without this comfort, be insupportable.� Samuel Johnson
“Hope is the physician of each misery” Irish Proverb