Rebecca Reeve‘s project “Marjory’s World” was made during her AIRIE (Artists In Residence In the Everglades) in 2012. “The project draws inspiration from a practice in late 1600s Holland, whereby during the home wake of a deceased person, it was customary to cover all the mirrors, landscape paintings and portraits with cloths. It was believed this would make it easier for the soul to leave the body and subdue any temptations to stay in this world,” Reeves said in a statement. The ritual could be compared to the deeply moving experience one feels in the natural environment, and thus provides both a literal and contextual portal from the domestic to the wilderness. The curtains Reeve used, all purchased from Goodwill stores in south Florida and Utah, also represent a “social fabric” and serve as visual connectors to the familiar.

Reeve is a British photographer currently living and working in New York City. Her photographs have been exhibited both national and internationally, including La Biennale de Montreal, Canada, the Freies Museum, Berlin, and MALBA, Buenos Aires. She was recently awarded the Artist-in-Exploration grant, underwritten by ROLEX, to continue her long-term projects in Cuba. Images from “Marjory’s World” are currently on view in the exhibition #PseudoReal at the Judith Charles Gallery in New York City.