Arianna Alter (Speckled Light through Trellis), Collaborator Portrait
Arianna Alter
Arianna Alter (she/her) is a queer, Jewish artist from South East Texas living in Austin Texas. She started taking photos at 14 and has developed a love for nature and travel photography. She continues her artistry through photography, rug making, and any other hobby for which she develops a hyper-fixation. She has an interest in continuing to create work that reflects the identities that she holds.
Instagram: @ariannasophia3
Website: aalterphoto.com
Tangled
Tangled uses a physical manifestation of mess, a mass of yarn, to symbolize life with chronic fatigue, brain fog, and ADHD. In photographing the mass, I explore how my metaphorical and physical yarn web stretches throughout my life and how it impacts my everyday functions.
After teaching myself how to punch needle during the start of the pandemic, I began collecting yarn for projects. In early 2022, I had the misfortune of getting bed bugs and had to throw all of my yarn into a dryer. What came out was yarn spaghetti. Despite my immediate frustration and instinct to toss the mess, I was convinced by my partner to hold onto it. Since then, it has become a promise to make use of the mass, be it for its intended use or otherwise.
The compilation of this project reminds me how the mess of an accident can be a weight on me but can also provide joy, humor, and beauty. By cherishing my yarn mass, I honor my past and future that bore the shame of making a mess. In this way, I allow myself to create an intentional mess.
Taken from above, Arianna, a white brunette woman, sits in a darkened room, holding a multi-colored mass of yarn in her left arm. Her hair covers her face, and some of the yarn is strung between her toes.
In the top left corner, a black trash bag spills a colorful mass of entangled yarn on the floor. Stuck inside the yarn are a small hot glue gun and EMDR buzzers. The bottom right of the photo is overexposed and shows a corner of Arianna's t-shirt.
Outdoors, the yarn mass sits on the left side of a boulder. The background shows green grass in both bright and shadowed lighting. Arianna's torso in a purple top and green shorts is in view on the left side as she pulls a sock out of the yarn with her right hand and steadies the yarn with her left.
A pathway in the center of the photo is lit by bright light and shading trees, causing circular shapes on the concrete. On the left is a row of tan brick buildings; on the right are tall oak trees.
In the foreground, blue pool water is illuminated with golden hour light. The same light brightens five tan pool chairs dividing the photo horizontally. Shadowed trees shade the background.
In a pool, Arianna's feet can be seen dangling in the water in the bottom right of the image. A couple can be seen in the top left corner. One person in a pink bikini top holds the other in a cradled position. Both of their heads are out of frame.
A couple in a pool stands in the center left of the image. The person on the right helps the person on the left wipe makeup from her eyes. Pool chairs in the background are illuminated by the sun.
From the bottom of a set of concrete stairs, a brightly lit tree can be seen in the center of the image with a bright blue sky in the background. In the foreground, shadowed brick houses are on either side of the tree and are contrasted by speckled golden light hitting the house on the left.
From a ground view, gold light and shadows stretch across a concrete path leading to two steps. Small leaves and white flowers litter the path.
A row of brick houses is mostly in shadows with some bright spots of golden light hitting them randomly. A bright blue sky can be seen in the top left of the frame.
Two white plastic lawn chairs are framed in the center of the image. Behind them are latticed glass windows with blue wooden trim. The chair on the left and part of the window is lit by golden hour light.
In the foreground, an empty concrete parking lot has a stream of oily ground water running diagonally through it. The setting sun is reflected in the stream. In the background are three dimly lit cars.
At golden hour, three patio chairs are sat in front of a brick home. Most of the image is darkened by evening shadow except for a spotlight of golden light on the chairs and the home's front window. Two chairs in the center of the image have blue striped cushions and face the camera. A white plastic chair on the right faces the left.
Taken from the left side, three metal grates can be seen. The one closest to the camera is bare and casts a patterned shadow on the concrete in front of it. The next leans forward at a precarious angle and is covered in ivy. The final one stands erect and is completely covered in ivy.
A yellowing grass lawn is lit by the sun. Grey rocks cover the hill behind the lawn. In the center, a woman stands wearing black shorts and sunglasses on her head. She holds the colorful yarn mass in her arms.
Arianna lays face down in her bed on tan sheets. She wears a white crop top and grey undies. Her upper body is wrapped in the yarn mass, covering her face and shoulders. On the far left, CPAP tubing can be just barely seen.
A white plastic pipe in the dirt runs through the center of the image. Tree roots wrap around the pipe. In the bottom right corner are the feet of a person wearing grey tennis shoes.
On different steps of concrete stairs, six differently sized yarn skeins [blue, black, orange, grey, and white] sit, all with one strand pulling to the right bottom corner of the image. The top right corner of the stairs is brightened with golden light.
In evening light, Arianna wears the yarn mass over her face. Her hand reaches to touch her cheek, and her right eye is barely visible through the yarn. The background is in shadow with some dots of golden light.
Arianna sits on concrete stairs, posed, with right knee up, left knee pointed in, right hand resting on her thighs, and left arm resting on her knee. The yarn mass covers her face completely. Part of the yarn and stairs are brightened by evening light. A light blue, dark blue, and a white skein of yarn sit on other steps.
Dusk blue sky is framed by shadowed trees. Orange clouds weave throughout. The moon can be seen as a white dot in the center of the image.
Scraggly trees are silhouetted with an orangey color streaking through tree limbs. Some dusk blue sky and clouds can be seen in the background.