The exhibition includes works hung salon style to form a narrative that chronicles aspects of Deborah’s life, such as her poolside lounging, her cigarette-burned blanket, bins of pills or a bruised arm. Accompanying this installation, below an image of Deborah in the passenger seat of a car, is a caption of a post from Spitz’s Instagram account, in which she describes the inaccuracy of memory as it pertains to her experiences growing up. As the project has developed over the course of eight years, Instagram has served a vital role, allowing Spitz to explore this relationship publicly and privately. The social media platform has given her a means to test the boundaries of the two, by posting images from the project alongside screenshots of text messages and iPhone images.
Through the progression of "You Have Nothing to Worry About," Spitz has grappled with the ethics of representation and conflicting emotions that she experiences when photographing her subject. Her role as photographer is to document very personal moments in her mother’s life, as well as shed light on taboo subjects like substance abuse and mental illness.
This exhibition is part of SCAD deFINE ART 2018, held Feb. 20-23 at university locations in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia, and Hong Kong. SCAD deFINE ART is an annual program of exhibitions, lectures, performances and public events that highlights emerging and established artists and visionaries.
Learn more about Spitz’s honor from Time.
Dive deeper into the exhibition with Connect Savannah’s feature.
