Jennifer Long, Untitled, from the series bedded, 2001

Ambiguity is a common characteristic in the Jennifer Long's work, as a matter of theme and composition. Her images methodically expose her subjects to near clinical attention - the lens catching a fallen eyelash, flakes of dry skin, a loose hair in the linen weave. It is as if she is presenting the facts, insisting to the viewer, ‘Here is everything I could find. You must only look carefully to find the answers."

But to counteract this excess of detail, Jennifer complicates her scenes by either removing important information from the photograph or by adding space between parts of an image. The viewer will find a hand separated from a face, both conduits of emotion. Through this means of isolation one looks beyond sitter’s facial expression for a key to the narrative puzzle presented. Through fragmentation one finds that the human body is itself a conveyor for language, that one will intuitively read things, real or imagined, in the turn of a hip, or in the way hair falls across a pillow.

People who see the artist’s work often comment on how intimate her photography is. This could be because of the sitters she uses, primarily friends and the partners of friends. The men and women do not appear posed; they seem relaxed and secluded, in an environment that is generally considered the most private space where people can drop their guard. The proximity of the lens is also a factor. Situated above the makeshift bed, Jennifer’s 4"x5" camera gives the impression of closeness, bridging the psychological gap between the viewer and the subject.

Jennifer’s images have the ability to draw the viewer in by partial narratives, delicately told, so that one feels the desire to complete them, to browse through memories, searching to identify something in one’s own experience that fits the scenarios. While some interpret a certain gesture as one of loneliness, another finds wistfulness. As a result many endings are possible, all valid.

- Selena Cristo 2004, Toronto, Canada