Artospective: Forgotten Lives by Sierra Lowe.

“Augusta Antoinette” 2017 – Sierra Lowe – oil and graphite on wood – 6x6in.

An Interview with Sierra Lowe.

Who are you and where are you from?

My name is Sierra Lowe. I grew up on an island in Maine, but now live in San Francisco, California.

What brought you to Art?

From the beginning, drawing and writing were the vehicles I used to make my inner world tangible. The rich imaginings of a child were too ethereal for the liking of my younger self, who valued stability and continuity. Dreams never lasted long enough. The characters in my mind had lineages and plotlines that spanned generations and needed to be recorded. Art allowed me to document the meanderings of my mind to be viewed at a later date. And I always looked back; back to my childhood, to what could be learned from the lives of my parents, all the way back to the history of my ancestors.

Why did you create the series “Forgotten Lives”?

Over the years, I have traced the lives and mysteries of the people in my family tree. When I get a glimpse into their reality by reading an old letter or uncovering a photograph, I am reminded how complex, how intricate their inner and outer worlds were... And the tragic lack of proof that remains of these rich lives. What happens when a person ceases to exist even in memory? This series explores the erosion of a life after death; how a bountiful existence can be reduced to a single, deteriorating image. These portraits developed through an exploration of how I could visually express their lives and personas evaporating. Many times throughout the creative process, my subjects would reveal themselves, alive and vibrant, before I made them fade again. I examined just what brought them to life and what released them from it. The finished pieces are at various stages of fading, to mark this process.