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"Stone Fragments", Polaroid transfer, (10.5" x 7.5"), 1998 Vermillion, SD - "For me, disability has been as isolation, a prison constructed illness. Art has given me a voice, a reason to get out of bed in the morning." Kayleen Reynolds grew up in the vast empty prairie of Western South Dakota, an area known as West River to the locals. The minimalist landscape, colored by a lack of rain and an abundance of violent weather, leaves an unmistakable mark on the people who reside there. During her college years, Reynolds pursued a career in the fast-paced world of journalism. A diagnosis of Myasthenia Gravis in her twenties ended ReynoldÕs plans and she returned to South Dakota to heal. There, she found herself drawn to her early loves of writing and art. Reynolds prefers a technique called Polaroid Transfer. She experiments with this media by adding different papers and fabrics to the photographs. The unpredictable nature of Myasthenia Gravis affects Reynold's' strength and dictates the mediums she can use on any given day. Her chemical sensitivities also require that she spends minimal time in the darkroom, and she is limited in the amount of time she may commit to drawing and painting due to the challenge of controlling her hands. The people of West River have learned to arrange their lives according to the dayÕs weather. They live at a much slower pace, and time means little there. In an attempt to live in harmony with her disease, Reynolds has adapted to living on West River time, and seeks to share the subtle beauty of this place through her art. |
