Lisa Beard: Phantom Limb

The idea behind Lisa Beard's series is to offer the concept of a “phantom limb” as a visual metaphor for the feeling that comes from something which is no longer present to either our individual or collective human experience. Beard's work compares the physical loss of a limb to how we react to people and parts of our lives that disappear. "Although difficult at times," Beard explains, "we all have to deal with loss and change and the accompanying feelings attached to those situations. This is something that unites us as humans."  All the images in the series are documentary in nature. They are not staged. And elements in the images have been manipulated to illustrate the phantom limb theme. This symbolic "limb" is presented as an experience that begins to fade and emotionally alters us by causing us to pause and contemplate what exactly it is that we have lost, or paradoxically, gained through the loss. Beard's series is also meant to call into question such ideas as: Do we really appreciate things as we are losing them or are they missed only after they are gone? Do experiences disappear or do parts of them stick around indefinitely? Is recollecting and reliving experiences harmful or healthy? And, ironically, are our memories accurate or do we idealize the past as we accrue new experiences and gain new insights?

Lisa Beard is a fine art photographer who also enjoys creating mixed media work and writing. She was born and lives in Woodstock, Illinois where she is a high school teacher. While teaching, she re-discovered her love for storytelling and creating art by making photographs. Her images reflect her conceptual and editorial work and her exploration and historical research of places and objects left behind. Much of Lisa Beard’s signature work contains elements of juxtaposition including light and dark imagery, beauty and destruction, and the illusion versus reality. Lisa is the author ofAbandoned Illinois Volume I: Secrets Behind the Spaceswhich was published in January 2019.

Image: Lisa Beard, Ripple