Ruth G. Sikes

Deserted Welding Studio, Evanston Art Center
digital photography, archival print
11 x 14 in.

I’m drawn to scenes that might otherwise be overlooked or dismissed as ruined and useless. I find myself longing to know the stories behind the scenes – who passed through and where are they now? What were their lives like? Why did they leave? Where did they go? Their ghosts haunt my pictures.

I love the zen-like philosophy of “wabi-sabi “ – beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent and incomplete.” This is what I try to capture, knowing that nothing lasts, nothing is finished and nothing is perfect. I see beauty, with all its imperfections in a broken window, a deserted building, an abandoned truck, an ancient tannery, a Venetian archway.