I am interested in capturing the invisible and the unseen. Duane Michael, a surrealistic photographer has definitely inspired me. His photographs are conceptually significant especially the series ’Alice’s Mirror.' In this particular sequence Duane uses photographic reflection to compose an impossible set of photographs.
The series consists of six images. The first photo portrays a small couch and spectacles. The next two photos ‘zoom out’ and viewers realize that what they saw previously was a mere reflection. Photos three and four are also reflections that were captured within the palm of a person, who finally destroys the mirror shattering every piece of imagery that was previously reflected. It can be implied that the artist is questioning the importance of en existing artwork. This made me ponder if an artwork would still retain after it has been meddled with or destroyed. I believe that the artist feels that an artwork which has been ruined is incorrigible like the broken pieces of the mirror. Even if the pieces are stuck back together the image formed would be incongruous to the original piece. Duane Michael’s work is exciting to me because he expresses his ideas through unexpected and unique photographs. His work definitely inspires me to take risks and think beyond the expected.