Debris investigates the translation of three-dimensional objects into the two-dimensional space of photography. This transformation occurs at least twice in the work: first, in my photographs of ancient sculptures; then, in images of paper sculptures constructed from printouts of those originals. These paper heads are constructed entirely through cutting and folding—without subtraction or glue—to allow them to physically stand on their own. A tension emerges between the representation of the volume of marble or clay and the flatness of the cutouts. The background and lighting suggest a perspectival space, which clashes with the apparent volume of the heads, generating an irrational, painterly dimension.

Beyond spatial concerns, the work evokes a quiet pathos. The faces gaze back at us across centuries. (Some are given black pupils, inviting a haunting reciprocity.) These are the shipwrecked survivors of time: the people who became stone, and the people who froze them in it. As in all photography, they are the faint light of dead stars.