Still #10

Because the size of a print is directly proportional to the size of the glass plate used, enlargements of ambrotype prints historically depended on the availability of bigger photographic plates. Abella has chosen to work within the limits of her existing equipment by shooting her subjects in sections and collaging an enlarged image from multiple prints. The large scale and fragmentation of images in Still No. 9, (2017) and Still No. 10, (2017) serve to amplify the emotional impact and allegorical meanings of the decaying floral bouquets.  Just as 17^th century vanitas paintings of decaying floral bouquets symbolized the temporary nature of youth and beauty, these images function in the same way but also hold a deeper personal meaning for the artist who sought a way to preserve the memory of a son’s loving gesture towards his mother.