photo-eye | BLOG: photo-eye Conversations | Patty Carroll and Anne Kelly

Patty Carroll, Victorian Birds, archival pigment ink print, 15 x 15 inches, edition of 20, $900

A quick glance at Victorian Birds reveals a figure sitting with her head buried in a desk. Weighted down by a heavy deep red velvet robe, in a somber green draped room, she is surrounded by birds of all kinds. Red parakeets pose on her, one on her left hand. A birdcage and an arrangement of regal peacock feathers are placed in the foreground. This photograph is simultaneously compelling, intimate, serious, humorous and sad. The sense of contradiction and frustration expressed in the image is exacerbated by the double-meaning of the Victorian bird figurines — by the confused symbols of freedom and enslavement they represent. During the Victorian era, women did not have the right to vote, sue or own property.

Patty Carroll is well-known for her heavily saturated, intense color images of domestic landscapes. Both, growing up in the suburbs of Chicago and her background in graphic design have informed much of her work. Throughout her career, she has also found inspiration in colorful vintage movies, decorating magazines and Victorian writing.

In her studio, Carroll creates ornamented and imagined domestic scenes using mannequins as her models. Inundated by over-decorated rooms and engulfed by a multitude of objects, she photographs them with her digital medium-format camera.

Carroll's work brilliantly addresses the complex relationship women have with domestic life — her captivating images portray everyday women who juggle home, family and careers.

As part of our video series photo-eye Conversations, photo-eye Gallery Director Anne Kelly interviewed Carroll about her photographic practice and her book Domestic Demise. This fabulous book comprises the fourth part of Carroll's ongoing photographic series “Anonymous Women.” Watch this amazing conversation below or on Vimeo.

Don't miss the limited edition of Domestic Demise, exclusively found at photo-eye Bookstore! Limited to an edition of 5, this set includes a signed and numbered print of Shadow of Her Former Self with a signed copy of the book.

Image size: 7x7 inches; paper size: 8½ x 8½ inches.

Signed Copies $45.00 Limited Edition $130.00