Passing / Outdoors with Jamie Burris

When I first heard Jamie talk about her days spent outdoors, I was immediately intrigued. I had to see her dance in public, perform among the trees on the edge of the busy boulevard. I imagined the reaction of people in their cars and what they must see as they passed. The idea of this public performance was something I wanted to explore. On our first day together, I noticed her stillness and movements were deliberate and slow. Her body mimicked the trees and she laid motionless in the dirt for minutes. I watched a tour bus on Mulholland Drive slow down to capture the action and I found myself competing with their cameras. The unknowing are unsure of what they’re witnessing as they pass, but they now have a memory of Jamie’s performance. She’s changed their view and left them with unanswered questions. Her performance affects all that see her - commuters and passersby, curious at first about her pink latex glove and field hat, but confused by her intentions. Will they be looking for her there tomorrow? My photographs document Jamie and our days outdoors, where each time is an uncertain adventure and her audience is at once inconsequential and vital. Our project has evolved as we’ve discovered our shared vision for the project and has become a symbiotic collaboration of places, light and captured movement.