JOANN VERBURG: First Day Back in Italy, Pisa is in a sense a photograph about jet lag. And I find that in-between state of being, so tired that you can't keep your eyes open, to be very provocative and very interesting like that moment of dusk that's both day and night sort of equally.
It's a still life, and part of the still life is the sleeping man behind. And I like it that there isn't a clear sense of why he's sleeping or why he's sitting up in his chair and has nodded off. There's some ambiguity there about, the relationship between this incredibly sensual, juicy looking still life in the foreground, and then this head that's just couldn't help but tip over, in exhaustion, and why that is.
The camera gives you a similar vantage point as you might have if you were sitting in a chair and looking at this person who is asleep. It's a bit of an invasion to stare at somebody. But you can do that more if someone's got his eyes closed than you can if he's staring right back at you.
