Linda Dawn Hammond - Schattenspiel (Shadow Play) Tarot Series

Schattenspiel Tarot Series (translation: "Shadow Play") My work as a photographic artist centers mainly around issues of social and sexual identity. In 1996 I received my MFA from York University, where my written MFA thesis, Imaginary Homelands, was a comparative study into the usage and meaning of symbols in the Tarot . This accompanied my thesis work- a multi-disciplinary, photo-based installation incorporating digital imagery, sound and found objects, since re-titled,"Schattenspiel"*. I am presently working to complete the series as a set of 78 illustrations, with accompanying text and CD-Rom.

In Schattenspiel, contemporary subjects are integrated within the symbolic structure of the Tarot, to play out mythological, archetypal roles while retaining their position in the present. The Tarot is seen as a document which enables one to engage in a process of self-examination, through the contemplation of archetypes and symbols which evoke memories deeply imbedded within the collective unconscious. One encounters a duality of meaning within the symbolic structure of fairy tales and mythology, and it is from these influences that the archetypal representations within the Tarot have been given artistic form. To integrate contemporary subjects (such as pierced and tattooed figures) with historic references is in keeping with the history of Tarot cards, which have always served to reflect current political climates and cultural mores.