The Artist's Mother And Father

Artist Lesley Shearer (Glasgow, Scotland, born 1968)

Date1999

Mediumcolour photograph on photographic paper

ClassificationsPhotographs

DimensionsHeight: 76.4 cm, Width: 101.8 cm
Frame Size: 85 x 107.3cm

AcquisitionPurchased in 2000 with assistance from the National Fund for Acquisitions and with income from the Webster Bequest.

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDAG013728

Keywords

About MeShearer studied photography at the London School of Printing. Informed by Feminism and personal experiences, her images are an autobiographical collection of memories gathered from influences that surround the artist.

These two photographs are part of a body of work by Shearer which focuses on the relationships between men and women. Both images tackle the subject of isolation. For example, in this work there is a physical proximity but immense psychological distance and dislocation between the couple as Shearer captures her parents watching two different televisions. The bleak portrayal is enlivened only by the artist's graduation photograph, proudly displayed above a vase of spring flowers. This detail seems to hint at the hope of a better life and thus adds further poignancy to the scene.
More About Me

Collections Wall

These two photographs form part of the artist's body of work centred on male-female relationships. Her parents watch two different TVs, distant both physically and mentally.