Paula Suter

Screen Name: paulasuterphoto
Currently Living: Poulsbo
Member Since: 7/21/2008
Last Update: 7/28/2008
Gallery Type: Public

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Gallery: WindowShopping (31 images)

My series entitled "Window Shopping" is a collection of images containing objects originally seen in shop windows. They represent the transient, illusory nature of our material world and the desires that emerge from it. Window Shopping is a metaphor for the never-ending pursuit of fulfillment, of goals and desires that change like seasonal window displays, catching our eye and feeding into a vague sense of craving. The tangible is portrayed along with the fleeting sometimes ambiguous qualities of reflection and shadow. There is the layering effect of unexpected elements as seen in an urban tattoo on a stone mannequin or Venus de Milo in turquoise. There is pathos in old things like a silver tea set and an antique wedding dress, carefully arranged in a shop window. And then there are iconic figures like Lennon, Monroe and the Buddha that convey messages from beings that no longer exist, but live on in spirit and continue to inspire. Objects of desire, as seen in shop windows, are like moving targets. We can't seem to pin them down or make them last. We can possess them briefly, but once possessed, they lose their magic. Even the grandest of schemes and ideas are subject to decay when we grab them too fervently. Like butterfly wings,once held, they lose their ability to take flight.