Jessica Burko Fine Art

This work brings together traditional photography, digital
technology & mixed-media elements. Images are sewn &
collaged with layers of beeswax & found papers & wood.
The pieced, layered, & stitched techniques in Fragments &
Alterations illustrate feelings of falling apart & holding
together. Wax muddles the surface, & creates a translucent
barrier of imaginary protection, while the body withdraws
into line & shape. Sealed under wax the frenzy is calmed,
& the static becomes quiet.

It is a searching & a yearning that drives this work. Finding a
safe place, finding a place to hide, looking through windows,
wishing to be somewhere else, daydreaming, picturing, &
reinventing the past. These are the forces that encourage my
exploration of abandoned buildings & dilapidated towns.
There’s a sadness in neglected space & in the evidence that
history has been cast aside. The sadness brings a quiet, & the
quiet brings the camera. figure/ground is a continued personal,
creative path from dislocation to resolution.

Asleep, when the mind is free & unfettered all seems correct
& in order. Disjointed images flashing in front of closed eyes
translate perfectly into linear narrative. Past & future join
seamlessly to eclipse all possibility of an existing present.
It is a world entirely of memory & hope & upon waking,
confusion ensues. Interior & exterior reach the surface.
There is no memory of peace made during the night.
Conflicts resolved in earlier darkness reveal themselves
as secret whispers.