Acknowledging the symmetry between theater and photography – in both, one enters a black box and an image appears – and understanding that both the stage and the lens act as apertures through which the greater world is observed and interpreted, my work uses the theatrical space to consider a shared human experience. Rigorous series of images explore distinct aspects of the performance idea. Presence and absence – what is seen and what is only implied or felt – convey the essential: A spotlighted act shows only what the performer wants us to see ; A luminous stage is filled with the expectation of what’s to come ; An empty club vibrates with the echoes of the soundtrack of a generation; A toe shoe salutes the discipline, virtuosity and illusory effortlessness of the dancer… A silenced city yearns for its cast and crew.

 The use of traces, or memory, enables the viewer to bring their own experience and imagination into the frame.

 Individually the projects are autonomous, in concert they compose an ongoing visual compilation of the theatrical experience and signify a commonality that is shared outside that black box.

RHONA BITNER
2023

Rhona Bitner is a native New Yorker.
She lives and works between New York City and Paris.

A voice comes to one in the dark.
Imagine.

Samuel Beckett