Miranda Lloyd

The Three Phases of Love, 2004
20”x20”
Digital C-Print, Edition of 3


"The Three Phases of Love was inspired by the catharsis necessary for uniting one’s self with another and the visceral process of attraction and apprehension transforming into “Love”. Using physical mutation to display both an exterior as well as an emotional evolution, I hope to covey the vulnerability inherent to the origins of the new and unknown. This is represented by three phases:

Phase 1-The kiss, a taste of the beginning.
Phase 2-Turning away. The gesture of fear of the unknown.
Phase 3- Symbiosis. The creatures again engaged in a kiss emblazing the symbol of infinity.

In fabricating this very simple portraiture of my personal experience on love and the continuum of loving, I wish address my own intent in relationships with others.

This photographic series originated as a sculpture, “ Ecosystem #2, 2001”. I purchased “food” at the market (octopus and chicken) and dissected the flesh to rejoin them into a single creature. It turned out to be a very unsettling experience. After I cut and sewed the chicken-octopus creature to completion and set him in formaldehyde I actually had to leave the room because a guilty stir in my stomach had overtaken me, almost as if I were a kid who had done something wrong. I couldn’t go into my studio for several hours. Of course I came to terms with my initial revulsion and ultimately have been inspired by people’s reactions to the installation. It seems to have a universal accessibility. Children respond to it the same way adults do; the physicality of the work begs for inspection. My decision to make the Three Phases of Love a photographic series was a purely practical decision. I had recently moved to New York and had limited space to produce larger installations. It was the beginning of a photographic phase of my work. I have discovered that sometimes the confines of a situation can push you further than you might push yourself."

Ecosystem #2, 2001
8'x4'x2' deep
installation size varies
Plastics, wax, resin, glass, metal, flesh


By Miranda Lloyd
http://www.mirandalloyd.com/main.html