Althea in her bedroom I, 2008 (printed in 2022), transparency in LED lightbox, 9” x 12” x 1 ⅜”

Eye Lounge presents Me Loving You/You Loving Me, a solo exhibition of works by Mikey Foster Estes. The artist presents their first-ever black-and-white 16mm film alongside new and revisited photographic works. The title itself is a reference to “Mama” by the Spice Girls, who the artist saw perform live with their father in 1997.

The artist continues to reflect on the connection to their late parents and family home in Gilbert, Arizona. Assorted river rocks, originally collected by the artist’s father, become the substrate for cyanotypes. Made in the afternoon sunlight near the backyard pool, the resulting “images” function as a marker of light and time. Exposed on the anniversary of their mother’s passing, the artist attempts to capture the intangible. The deep blue, white-speckled surfaces recall the vastness of the night sky or a body of water.

As a teenager, the artist shot portraits of their mother, four of which are on display as illuminated transparencies. The cross-processed negatives, recently rediscovered, produce an image with highly saturated color shifts and a dreamlike quality. The raw set of photographs embody the reciprocal relationship between mother and child, photographer and subject. The artist says, “Although my mother had worked in a lab and was comfortable behind the camera, she never enjoyed having her picture taken. This was a rare instance where I feel we both had to let our guard down and give in to the image.” 

Memory and time are forces that reverberate throughout the exhibition. In response to their mother’s tongue-in-cheek “rule” about tattoos (it better be on your butt and say MOM), the 16mm film documents the artist as they get a tattoo of her typical greeting card signature on their upper left butt cheek. Overlaid throughout the sequence are moving images made inside the family home and of specific objects that recall her presence. Field recordings and manipulated audio are layered atop one another, producing an evolving wall of sound that complements the visual rhythm.

Me Loving You/You Loving Me is on view at Eye Lounge from January 21, 2021—February 13, 2022. Gallery hours are Friday, 6—9pm, Saturday, 1—5pm, and Sunday, 11—3pm. Additional hours available by appointment: contact eyelounge@gmail.com. Face coverings are required in the gallery at all times.

Every cloud has a silver lining — Perhaps, 2022, production still