Aaron Wax

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Aaron Wax

2017 Annual Juried Competition
Honorable Mention

Statement:
Naturalization, is an exploration into the life of my grandfather, a Polish Jew who moved to the United States before the Second World War with hopes to earn enough money to bring his wife and children to join him. Unfortunately, the War began before they could join him in the States and they were killed. Although he passed away before I was born I have always felt close to his story. If not for his great loss I would not have been born. Much of what I know from my grandfather’s life is reconstructed through oral histories. The shift inevitable in our flawed memories allows for the creation of a new and equally flawed narrative. I create images from my grandfather’s saved objects, photographs, and documents. These images act as the framework for reconstructing his story. I also appropriate other materials to supplement my study. These objects act as a memory from another’s life. The inconsistencies and limitations within my family’s memory allow this appropriation. I will never be able to create an actuate representation of my grandfather’s life, but I am interested in constructing a reimagined narrative based on his past.

Bio:
Aaron Wax is an artist and photographer living and working in Brooklyn, NY. He earned his MFA in Photography, Video, and Related Media from the School of Visual Arts in New York, NY in 2014. His work been exhibited throughout the United States as well as featured on various online and print arts publications. Last year Wax was the Third Prize Winner at Photowork 2016 at the Barret Art Center in Poughkeepsie, NY. Most recently his work has been exhibited at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA, The Rockaway Artists Alliance in Queens, NY, Tilt Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ, The Garner Center for Photographic Exhibitions in Boston, MA, and Seigfred Gallery at Ohio University in Athens, OH. 

Artist’s website: www.aaronwax.com