Caddy Burns (Sitting on Stone Ledge at Pease Park), Collaborative Portrait
Caddy sits on a stone ledge in a park and directly addresses the audience. They are wearing a red dotted dress, white sneakers, and have their hair mostly up. The sun is shining.
Caddy Burns
Caddy Mae Burns is an artist living and working in Texas. Their work focuses on intimacy, spectatorship, and the beauty of mundanity.
Instagram: @solitaryfairy
Website: caddymaeburns.com
Statement: This work is about home and partnership. These photos illustrate a transitional time period in my life, marked by lots of ups and downs but stabilized by mundane rituals. I focused on meaningful day-to-day moments with myself and my partner Nat, finding comfort in routines and fleeting moments. Passing the camera back and forth, myself and Nat were able to capture each other in vulnerable, intimate settings which mark our domestic space together. Through documenting routines such as daily walks, bathing, and grooming, I was able to preserve a specific comfort I find in the ordinary.
Caddy behind the camera
Caddy sits on a bed with a pale blue bedspread. They sit behind a camera on a tripod, looking into the lens and holding onto a lever on the tripod. They are wearing a lavender dress with a full skirt and red lipstick. They have shoulder-length, straight, brown hair that is clipped back. Most of their face is obscured by the camera. There are colorful paintings and shelves on the wall behind the bed.
hazy bathroom
Caddy stands in front of their bathroom mirror, facing away from the camera and to the left, while looking into the mirror. Their hair is up in a bun, and they are wearing a towel around their body. The bathroom is dark and foggy, causing the image to appear hazy.
feet with tinsel
In a darkly lit room, the camera is pointed toward the ground with the flash illuminating the whole photo. On the ground there is a white sheet covered with silver tinsel. At the top left of the photo, the edge of a silver banner and the legs of a clear acrylic chair are visible. At the bottom edge of the photo, Caddy’s lavender dress hangs down slightly into the frame of the photo and is illuminated by the flash. From underneath the dress, Caddy’s foot is stepping into the tinsel. Their toenails are painted bright red, and there are pieces of silver tinsel stuck to the top of their foot.
light through trees
In the foreground, there is a small tree with white blossoms. Behind it, there are tall, green trees which are silhouetted by the setting sunlight. Through the connected branches of the trees, orange, pink, and light blue light peeks through. The sun is a pale orange point of light that penetrates through the leaves of the blossoming tree.
red sunset
It is evening time outdoors. There is the silhouette of apartment buildings at the bottom right of the photo. There are three small lights dotting the exterior of the building at the bottom of the image On the left side of the photo, the flash of the camera bounces off of a white exterior wall. The sunset can be seen behind the buildings. It is vibrant orange, red, and purple. There are dark gray clouds sweeping across the sky.
flowers close up
Bright pink tulips fill most of the frame and are illuminated by the flash. The background is dark. The tulips are out of focus and appear blurred. Their color is washed out by the flash of the camera.
feet on chest
In a dark room, the flash of the camera brightly illuminates Nat, a person with pale skin and short, brown hair. Nat’s eyes are closed and their cheeks, ears, and neck are flushed red. Their torso is nude and they are holding themselves up with their arms. The bottom half of their body is cropped out of the photo, and a pale blue blanket is draped around their waist. The camera is angled below their body. In the bottom right of the photo, Caddy’s leg comes into the frame. Their knees are bent and their feet are resting on Nat’s chest. Caddy has a brightly colored tattoo of a tiger on their leg which is partially visible, but out of focus. Their toenails are painted bright red.
Caddy catching sunlight
Caddy stands in the foreground of the photo in profile, slightly turned to the right to look at the camera. She is wearing a red t-shirt, a beige tote bag, sunglasses on her head, and white scarf tying her dark hair back. Her right hand is partially raised with her fingers relaxed. Bright sunlight hits her face and arm, illuminating her skin and casting a long shadow behind her. In the background, there is a sidewalk lined with trees. The trees are casting a dappled shadow onto the sidewalk.
pool reflection
The entire frame of the photo is filled by the surface of a swimming pool. The water is a bright teal blue color, and there are small black leaves sitting on the bottom of the pool. The water is reflecting the image of apartment buildings, which look pink from the light of a sunset. There are also tree branches reflected on the surface of the pool. The pool appears translucent and reflective at the same time.
Caddy with towel
Caddy stands in the door frame of a bathroom. She is standing relaxed, with her arms crossed over her chest and her head slightly tilted to the right. She is looking off into the space just behind the camera. She is wearing white briefs and is holding a teal bath towel that is covering her chest. There is a bruise on her hip and tattoos on her thigh and arm. The camera’s flash is lighting the photo so the background appears dark. Behind her is a room with an unmade bed. A gray tabby cat is sitting under the bed and looking at the camera. The cat’s eyes are glowing bright yellow from the flash of the camera.
Chairs with house
Two dark blue lawn chairs are stacked on top of each other and propped against the side of a house. There is a flower planter on the ground to the left of the chairs. The house is white with green trim, and has a wooden fence running alongside it. There is a reflection of light that stretches from the bottom left of the photo, across the concrete driveway and ends just above where the chairs are stacked. The chairs appear to be encapsulated by the light reflection.
Caddy in shower
Caddy stands with their back to the camera in the shower. There is a white tiled wall behind them. The photo is cropped at their torso. Water from the shower is coming in from the left of the frame and is running down their body and off of their elbow. Their dark, shoulder length hair is wet. They have several tattoos on their upper arms and one that is partially visible on the back of their head. There are subtle red indent marks on their body from their waistband and bra.
peach blossoms
Looking up through the branches of a tree, there are lots of small pink blossoms and blooming flowers. The sky behind the branches is gray. There are other large green trees visible in the background.
Nat window gaze
In a kitchen, Nat stands looking out the window with their back facing the camera. Their elbows are resting on the window sill and their hands are brought up to rest under their chin. The sunlight is coming in through the blinds and casting striped shadows and reflections over the kitchen counter. There is a plant behind them on the counter. Their ears are bright red, with the light shining through them.