Absent - Artist’s Statement 2004

Saskia Takens-Milne’s latest exhibition is a photographic exploration of absence. Informed by Vermeer’s Woman in Blue (1663-64) and Sophie Calle’s The Hotel (1986) the absent subjects are evoked by intimate clues and sensuous details.

The images resonate with recent occupation, capturing the moment of suspension between presence and absence. Reminiscent of the Marie Celeste, the absence is unexplained, creating a cumulative foreboding and the haunting possibility of loss.

This exhibition is a natural continuation of the artist’s previous work exploring unconventional forms of portraiture. The images leave the viewer free to apply their own narratives and experiences to the vacated spaces of the unknown and unseen figures.

Saskia Takens-Milne is a graduate of Glasgow School of Art (2000) and has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions across London and the UK, including Art, Age and Gender  2004 (a touring exhibition facilitated by the Foundation for Women’s Art), fEAST 2003 (Organised by Inside Arts) and a solo exhibition at the Start Gallery 2003. She was recently nominated for the Jerwood Prize (2003) and Beck’s Futures (2004)