Gallery Issue 16 MM Online

the personal art work of Peter Webb
(see this issue's feature(s) section)

July 1993.
Polaroid 809 emulsion transfer onto Arches paper.

She was a stone grave ornament in the St. Louis No. 1 graveyard in New Orleans. The wispy fabric-like distortion of the image at the top, and the hard shattered breakup at the bottom, work with the subject matter to convey the sorrow I wished to express.

April 1996.
Polaroid 809 pigment transfer onto Arches paper.

The old 'strip' in Las Vegas is rich in scenes from 50's America. I could not resist photographing this - the first and only neon Yucca plant that I have ever seen.

June 1994.
Polaroid 809 pigment transfer onto Arches paper.

I'm not sure why laundromats hold such a fascination for me, but they do.
This one is in the Noe Valley area of San Francisco.

October 1995.
Polaroid 809 pigment transfer onto Arches paper.

In this portrait of my 9 year old son, I wanted to convey both the bravado and fragility of his age.

March 1996
Polaroid 809 pigment transfer

Ruthie and I were on a picnic in Melbourne's Heide Park and each of us split up and walked separately. I went into one of my "shooting trances", where I get all buzzy and can't stop photographing what's around me. This autumn leaf was one of the shots.

Late afternoon on Venice beach. November 1996.
Polaroid 809 pigment transfer onto Arches paper.

One of my favourite things in the world is to rollerblade down along Venice beach, up past Santa Monica pier in the late afternoon. While doing just that, I found this beautiful juxtaposition of the frivolity of the distant pier, and the quiet reflection of the homeless man, standing near his bedding in the foreground.

April 1996.
Polaroid 669 print
Every time I drove east on Venice Boulevard, I would see these houses, a whole block of them - in rows of 6. Each house is almost identical with only small variations like the shape of trees in front or colour of the door. I was fascinated and finally stopped and photographed the whole front row.

dad's workshop August 1996.
Polaroid 809 pigment transfer onto Arches paper.

Always an amazing place for a young boy, dad's workshop grew more and more as he collected most everything that came his way and that he thought might prove useful. Since he died earlier this year, I have been sorting through these things, his trash and his treasures. This photo, originally shot just to record the scene, seems almost to convey some sense of the forlorn, of possessions who have lost their purpose.