Crystal Tursich recently won Second Place in N.Y. Photo Curator's Global Photography Awards for her piece, "Things We've Saved."
Words from curator, Susan Spiritus:
Crystal Tursich’s photograph, “Things We've Saved” has a bare emptiness to it, but it brought me back time and again. Although we only see a small part of a room, we are left to question things about the house. Have they moved out or are they moving in? I chose to believe the former. It appears empty – the people have moved out – or moved on and its starkness was evident to me. Was the photographer the child who played with the bear? Is the photographer the daughter whose parent sat in that chair? While the photo does not give us many answers it is one I returned to several times to think about – but still did not get my questions answered. It left me thinking that the journey began years ago in this house with a child whose favorite toy was the stuffed Pooh bear and the books were his/her favorites that were read on a daily basis…. by whom? I think it was the grandparent’s home for many years and the grandchild made frequent visits. It was probably the ‘favorite’ chair and was used everyday and each time stories were read. Surely a photograph of this arrangement is a way to remember the past – the journey.