Sleeping Man

These pictures were taken over a period of several years while my husband, Ed, slept in rooms other than the bedroom. I found my husband’s sleeping postures both humorous and poignant. For a period of time he would fall asleep while he was doing something and the things he was using, the artifacts of daily life, are nearby. As I watched him, I became sensitive to our vulnerability while asleep. When we are absent from the conscious state our bodies slump, our mouth may open, our bodies are supported or not by a chair or sofa. There is also our vulnerability to the camera, to being recorded without the benefit of composing oneself for the photograph. I felt reluctant at first to show my husband while asleep until I thought about sleep as a universal state, which we all need to do. I also greatly valued his unusual ways of sleeping. The photographs were taken with a medium format film camera and are long exposures. In several photographs Ed moved during the exposure and his head nodding is seen.