Thomas Waters began making photographs in 1977 when a friend suggested borrowing his camera for a weekend– just to see how it went– and he’s been turning his lens towards the world ever since. Waters work however may best be described as mixed-media because it rarely obeys the rules of formalist photography; sometimes painting or sewing onto his work, or mixing the photographic image with other media or processes. Waters is trained in commercial photography and self-taught in other art disciplines. His work can be viewed on-line at tcwaters.com.
In my work I investigate the implications of a queer aesthetic using found objects and manipulated imagery, creating work that invites the easy touch on the uneasy. While my work is heavily photographic, I also work in screen printing, mixed media, and digital printing on non-traditional and found materials.
I have always identified as an artist, more than as a photographer, because so often a photograph is purely narrative, or about place, which itself is a type of narrative. In my work, I am concerned more with the image being a magnifier of an object, to invite an investigation of that object in a very detailed and minute way. My work asks for you to study what I am putting out there, and really see it. In my recent work, I have been drawn to making very large images of very small toys and dolls, bringing attention to their form, substance, texture, and highlighting imperfections, idiosyncrasies, and elements that make them unique.
In my work, I seek to create a tension surrounding how things appear. The work presents an ambiguity without suggesting a specific story, leaving the viewer to superimpose their own narrative upon the image.
Contact Info:
thomaswaters@mac.com
412-400-8777
twitter: @tcwaters
instagram: thomascwaters