Stranger than Family by Matthew Avignone
For many, when hearing the word “family” brings other words to mind; mom, dad, brothers, sisters, love and birth. But what if you were flown into your mother and father’s arms not by a stork but by a Boeing 747. My siblings and I were all adopted across the pacific from the countries India and South Korea, we came from foster mothers and lonely orphanages to parents and a little home in Illinois, some of us healthy and some with life-inhibiting special needs ranging from neurofibromatosis to spina bifida. As a son I am interested in documenting our lives from the significant, such as a first birth, to the banality of my brother after his shower. For at one time we might have all been strangers, but with time, love and perseverance we are fortunate to call ourselves a family as one.
Matthew Avignone is a Chicago based artist.
To view more of Matthew's work, please visit his website
Dad and the Boys (2010)
Kentucky-Taco-Hut (2010) and Before Steak and Shake (2010)
Easter Kiting (2010)
Garage Screen Door (2011)
Untitled, Eric (2010)
Jami In Her Bedroom (2010)
Eric and Nick’s Bedroom Window (2010) and Halo Reach (2010)
Nick Supporting My Ladder (2010)
Untitled, Dad (2010)
After Haircut (2011)
Mother to Daughter (2010) and Poo Check (2010)
On Her Way to Dustin’s (2010)
Family Get-together, Raindrops (2010)
Aldi, $80.72 (2010)
Hanging Around the Pool (2010)
Wiffle Ball (2010) and After a Fight (2010)
Untitled, Mom (2010)
7 Weeks Pregnant (2010)
Nick’s Idea, Halloween (2010)
Eric, Halloween (2010)
Untitled, Alicia (2010)
Nick After Shower (2010)
Jami in Her Bedroom, 8 Months (2011)
Backyard (2011)