The Nuclear Family

In this ‘series’ of 4 portraits, a nuclear family is portrayed as being a preserved ideal of the past. The series was originally shown as portraits of each family member in a preserves jar filled with old discoloured "pickling juice" to show that this is a passé family tree; the Nuclear Family. A family that has a wedded Mother & Father in their mid to late twenties and two children is what defines a nuclear family. Although this is still what most strive for today, it is not nearly as prevalent as it was in the past. The creative process of each portrait came from using several found images from the 1950’s (when the term was coined) and then proceeding to play with opacity and layering in photoshop to create an odd, dis-jointed face. The combination of the edited portraits submerged in old, pickled-esque water in the preserves jars is what drives home the main idea that this is an ideal from over 50 years ago that is still attainable but not necessarily the only family tree in 2016.

Created: April 2016