Sarah Troost

The Distance Between Everything

The Distance Between Everything is a series of photographs and collages. These images are sourced from my own archive of photographs that I have collected over time. Revisiting these collections after time has passed brings new light to them, and assigns them a new meaning. These fragments of images represent aspects of my own experiences and snippets from my life. By separating these selected fragments or fabricated moments from their original context, I am able to experience a different way of seeing them. My process involves researching my archive, selecting images, then printing them at a small scale - sometimes one inch by one inch. I manipulate these tiny prints through cutting, ripping, or layering. Through this process of altering images, I create collages by pairing various prints or isolating specific parts. Another aspect of my process is to scan the collages so the end result is a flat, two dimensional image. Because of this act, I am able to give these objects a new perspective. Working with actual prints when collaging is important to my practice because I am interested in the physicality of the object. When viewing the final images, there is a familiarity triggered. Like a distant memory, they reveal a sensation of longing and curiosity. 

In this series, The Distance Between Everything, I am most interested in challenging the idea of how reality is represented in the photographic medium or form, what exists truly as a memory, and what is just the result of forming a narrative with pieces that seem to fit together.