Claire Rosen’s photographic practice is deeply rooted in the landscape and experiences of childhood; that is, in a magical world of fairy tales, visions and play-acting. In her “Nostalgia: A Study in Color” series, Rosen assembled and photographed tableaux, organized by color, of personal belongings from her childhood. In these lushly colored scenes, ordinary objects, such as dolls’ heads and playing cards, are placed next to articles less familiar to the realm of childhood, including an opium pipe, bird skeletons, a lobster and a teeth mold, to name a few. Such juxtapositions render even the commonplace items strange, exotic and emotionally charged. The photographs thus draw us into the imagination and perspective of a child, for whom the most ordinary of objects can become the material of fantasy, and at the same time conjure the very adult feeling of nostalgia, of longing for a romanticized past.
