Domestic Life Through the Lens: 3. Contact sheet for While the Baby Sleeps

 

   Sarah Barr. While the Baby Sleeps (contact sheet). C-print. 2005.

 

(continued from Domestic Life Through the Lens: 2. Duane Michals, Death Comes to the Old Lady)

 

For my first attempt at While the Baby Sleeps, I selected a few brightly colored items that I thought would show up well on film, unboxed a video monitor and placed it on the counter to allude to a sleeping child – you can just make out the vertical slats of the crib, and donned a red turtleneck sweater. Next, I set up my large format camera on a tripod across from the sink and began experimenting with exposure times aided by a handheld light meter. I needed enough time to open the shutter, move in front of the sink, record the translucent traces of the dishes and myself as we shifted from one side of the sink to the other, and then return to the camera to close the shutter. In this early contact sheet of two 4 x 5 inch negatives, you can see I did not succeed. 

My sister Sue countered, “You've captured those wonderful fairies who clean up after everyone.”