Absent

The series Absent is based on three famous hoax pictures. The first image derives from Elsie Wright’s 1917 photograph of fairies; the second image is based on the 'surgeon's picture' of the Loch ness monster taken by in 1934; the third image derives from a still from the alleged Roswell alien autopsy footage that was circulated in 1995. All photographs have subsequently been revealed as hoaxes.

The original photographs themselves were not strictly speaking unreal: everything in the picture was in front of the camera and captured without double exposures, combination printing, retouching or other tricks. The fairies, monster and alien were simple props. In Absent I have chosen to digitally remove these props, in an effort to restore reality within the images. It is an attempt to make a manipulated image that is more real than its ‘straight’ original.

Read more about Absent