Journal, In Progress is the accumulation of a Polaroid self-portrait made everyday since January 1994. Together the unassuming and approachable images present a narrative time line measuring growth, change and regression. Individually, they address issues of the body and identity in a direct and non-glamorous way. Allowing the project to turn corners and wind around walls, the 4” x 4” Polaroids are arranged chronologically in vertical strips of 17 equaling the subject’s height of 5’6”. Traveling across the wall it grows an average of 7 feet a year. At the end of its 15th year (January 2009) it will be comprised of approximately 5500 photographs and over 100 feet long.

Together the images depict universal experience; their raw, personal and sometimes frivolous nature demythologizes the self with humor and vulnerability. The images document yet remain elusive. Viewed close up, they suggest individual transformations, recording momentary changes. Seen from a distance, the figures evaporate, the ritual becoming more apparent and the measurement of time emerges as the images fade and change, an imperfect memorial to the everyday.

Journal has been shown 4 times in its entirety – the last time during its 10th year at Flatfile Gallery in Chicago. Smaller portfolios are drawn from the entire project including the Volatile Bodies portfolio and exhibition – an edit of images dealing specifically with body issues, printed as 7” x 7” inkjets and Moosebook, a publication of images taken at Black River Crossing.

This movie features installation shots from Flatfile Gallery and Polaroids made July - December 2007.