Tom Chambers, a contemporary artist, explores the concept of dreams through photomontages by sharing the intriguing unspoken stories, which reflect his view of the world and elicit feelings of sorrow and beauty in the viewer. Chambers deals with consumerism and its effects on the world though a spiritual and psychological context. He explores these ideas by incorporting real issues into a surreal world where the harshness of the issue is less intimidating.
The process of creating a photomontage may take a month or more to put together. "Pieces" of the final image may include the landscape or background, often shot in sections, as well as the sky, a human figure, an animal, or another object. Through photomontage Chambers presents unspoken stories which illustrate fleeting moments in time and which are intended to evoke a mood in the viewer. These mythical illustrations might address the fragility of childhood or the delicate transition experienced by a child passing into adolescence and then adulthood. Others express the tension in the uncertain coexistence between man and his environment, a delicate balance too often ignored and damaged (Tom Chambers). Through Chambers careful construction of images, he is able to move beyond the present, and rather seek to merge reality and dreams in musing about possibilities of the future.
Chambers series, Dreaming in Reverse, reflects on his travels through the Mexican countryside where he experienced a warm, welcoming, and slow-paced style of living. A sense of spirituality and magic were imbedded in their religious practices, crafts, art, dance, and literature according to Chambers. When he returned to Mexico he experienced a country teetering on the brink of change created by increasing political and economic challenges, and exacerbated by the trappings of global consumerism. The Mexican people appeared handcuffed by demands largely outside of their control and threatened by the potential loss of their cultural richness (Tom Chambers).
Sensing that little time remains to photograph the beauty of Mexico, Chambers created the series "Dreaming In Reverse" to express concern for cultural loss, as well as appreciation for the inherent loveliness of Mexican life. Employing magic realism, an art genre used in the early twentieth century in Mexico, Chambers created images of Mexico which seem true and believable, but also perhaps improbable. The series depicts the dreams for the Mexican people that one day they are able to retain the authenticity of their culture (Tom Chambers).
Chamber's photomontages of surreal imagery folded into rural Mexican scenes become persuasive dreamscapes. "Dreaming in Reverse" soaks up the evocative richness of painterly light and color, expressing both appreciation for the beauty of the reality in the settings, and the possibilities of nudging into some "magical, dream-like place."
