Home: photographs of my family home 2003

These images were made during my psychological transition from living with my parents to my independence as a young adult. I photographed the house for many personal reasons. It was a place that I was confined to, where I grew up in un-intentional isolation. For reasons I am not ready to post here it was not an ideal home. Since making these images in 2003 it has only gotten worse. Looking back I see a need to find beauty as a way to avoid a serious problem. One that as a child just entering adulthood I was not able to address. I am not sure that I can face it now.

Sincerely,

Fiona

Photographing the Homes of Hoarders: Michael Schmelling, The Plan

A photo book published by Photo Eye Bookstore.
The Plan.
Photographs by Michael Schmelling. Text by Richard Maxwell.
J&L Books, 2009. 576 pp., 490 black & white illustrations, 6¾x9".

Book Tease

Publisher's Description
Between 2003 and 2005, Michael Schmelling photographed 12 private residences in the company of Disaster Masters, a New York-based company specializing in cleaning up homes and counseling compulsive hoarders. Featuring 490 photographs printed in black-and-white on 576 newsprint pages, this volume devotes one chapter to each home-producing an arresting art object and a fantastic document of urban archaeology and psychology.