2011, archival pigment print (framed), w:58’’ h:40’’

In the world we live in today a simple event of sitting around the table with your loved ones, sharing delicious meals can be a luxurious idea. The need to be close, to see each other face to face is now more pertinent than ever. This work is inspired by the times we live in and brings memories of better days around the dinner table, and, perhaps, a hope for a warmer future. As a society we all crave a large, fun, Fellini-esque gatherings.

2011, archival pigment print (framed), w:8’’ h:10’’

When I saw this woman reclining back on her chair I was captivated. What a smile, and what could she be thinking about? Her expression seemed to welcome the whole world, and I knew this moment would look perfect on the wall of my dinner conversation. A grandmother is a paramount figure at any family dinner. A rare glimpse of her smiling. A woman with her grand memories and integrity brings lightness and hope.

2011, archival pigment print (framed), w:12’’ h:16’’

Sofie was my French neighbor. I thought that she would be great for my project and asked her to pose for it. There she sat at a small white covered table, being charmingly hidden knowing soon she would eat the lovely asparagus dish before her. Always the flirt and full of gossip, she adds a mysterious and intriguing quality to the dinner ceremony.

2011, archival pigment print (framed), w:5’’ h:7’’

Sienna, my most wonderful cat, desired to be in every one of my shoots and often was. Here she is with her tongue tipping out of her mouth looking at all the grand food before her. Always a lady she waited patiently.

2011, archival pigment print (framed), w:12’’ h:12’’

Shay, my wonderful assistant with red shiny hair was in my studio in a playful mood when I asked her to be part of the project. We had lots of laughter and surprises hearing Doug and Cynthia’s storytelling to each other all while eating dinner and drinking wine. Surprise and wonder, a desire to be a part of the dinner adventure - she represents an outsider peeking in.

2011, archival pigment print (framed), w:9’’ h:11’’

Samantha, a dancer, writer and totally wondrous being is always questioning the world about her; here she had such a good time listening and reacting to Doug and Cynthia talking while eating their lamb chop dinner. She represents guarded curiosity - a character I wanted to have at my dinner installation.

2011, archival pigment print (framed), w:10’’ h:10’’

I love pigs and was enchanted by this doorstopper pig. So I put him in my mother’s small pink suede chair and took this picture. How jaunty and welcoming he is on this Alice in wonderland chair siting on fake green grass. I wanted the project to have an Alice and Wonderland vibe. A familiar event hyperbolized to absurdity. A piglet represents the intelligence of youth for they are truly intelligent creatures.

2011, archival pigment print (framed), w:13’’ h:13’’

When in Bali I sought out parrots to photograph. I was looking for them because I envisioned their chatter would be just right for my idea. Just by chance I luckily found these two birds, maybe best friends, talking to each other. Parrots mate for life and it's pleasing that they can still have a loving chatter. I wanted to welcome their energy at the dinner table.

2011, archival pigment print (framed), w:14’’ h:21’’

I asked my mother, Ruth, and her best friend, Mildred if they would pose for my upcoming Dinner Conversation project. My mother wore her lovely pink silk pajamas and Mildred wore her striped cotton dressing gown for the occasion. The conversation took place in Mildred’s deep pink Floridian bedroom as they sat up together in her great big dark green bed. Occasionally Mildred would fall asleep during the shoot, but as you can see by the photo they made each other laugh a lot. I wanted my mother to be a part of this installation represent life-long friendships and the importance of brevity.

2011, archival pigment print (framed), w:12’’ h:16’’

When I saw these men talking to each other smiling as they floated in their inner tubes, I looked at their exposed feet, their relaxed almost childlike content, and I knew I wanted this diversity of life in my project.

2011, archival pigment print (framed), w:8’’ h:10’’

Mac was my neighbor’s dog. He was in love with her. We put a red cap on him and I took this picture. I first saw the dog being walked near my house in Lower Manhattan. The dog walked as if every step was painful although it was a young healthy pup. The owner showed great love and said to me "She's steadfast, loyal, optimistic - the qualities that endear us to dogs and are also the things we can learn from them."

2011, archival pigment print (framed), w:11’’ h:14’’

I photographed one of my assistants and asked her eat this delicious multicolored lollipop for this project. She happily agreed and added to the joy of this special event. The innocence and freedom of youth are integral parts of a good dinner conversation. I knew I needed a hint of the absurd, a comic Fellini-like image, that might make you recall the meaning of Gelsomina in La Strada.

2011, archival pigment print (framed), w:13’’ h:19’’

Kadet was one of my first nudes in color. She was a seamstress making huge shades for my oversized windows. She agreed to pose nude for me eating and she decided nothing else would do but watermelon. When I commented that a black person eating watermelon was a stereotype and may not be viewed favorably she responded, “get over it Lynn, people all over the world eat watermelon and so will I"… and so she did. Self-defining, unapologetic and honest.

2011, archival pigment print (framed), w:20’’ h:24’’

At the time of this shoot the model Jessica was a Rockette. She was a lovely person, a perfect personality to live within my dinner conversation between my friends Doug and Cynthia. I wanted her peek outside of her frame to show the independence of a woman who cannot be contained.

2011, archival pigment print (framed), w:16’’ h:20’’

This image is my friend Doug’s niece; she is part of a large extended family that spent the summers in this very big old church in a lovely New England small village that was converted into a family residence in Stonington. I saw her playing with her hula hoop and asked her if she would pose for me. Reluctantly she replied, “Ok but hurry as I want to play with my cousin”. When I asked her to smile, she said "I take my hula hoop very seriously" and refused. Stubbornness of youth, it's playfulness and the discovery of self-identity. I had this one moment of her earnest effort - I clicked the shutter.

2011, archival pigment print (framed), w:8’’ h:10’’

I saw these elephants in Bali sitting this way and they seemed engaged in a joyous yet separate conversation with each other. They say an elephant never forgets, even a conversation that is separated - the memories of it are shared.

2011, archival pigment print (framed), w:5’’ h:7’’

I photographed these ducks on a road in Bali. They were a family and an idea reverberated in me to use them in my upcoming photographic installation of the dinner conversation that I was planning. They walked together just as my relatives might do. To me it represents a mother guiding her children to dinner, but also people being marched through life, mindlessly going forward, patterned by whom, to be what?

2011, archival pigment print (framed), w:10’’ h:14’’

The photograph of a cat on a chair has special meaning to me. My mother had recently passed away and the chair was handed down to me. My mother loved my cat, and although the cat on the chair was a door-stopper the image brought together a special memory, a kind of surreal sense of family combining present and past.

2011-12, installation, 18 framed museum glass images, 8 objects, mixed media and archival pigment prints, w:12′ h:14′