My Father is Coming...and Other Childhood Fantasies

These images are from my past.

Memories are elusive, random and unexpected, often provoked by accidental stimuli. When I first saw the poster for the film "My Father is Coming", I recalled certain terrors I experienced as a child. Initially I believed these memories may have been brought about by physical or sexual abuse, but later realized they were recollections of explosive verbal abuse masked between long periods of indifference.

When I began to explore these and other memories of my childhood, an overwhelming and persistent sense of conflict emerged. My relationship with my father was paramount in developing all my relationships. As a gay youth, when my fantasies and desires also inspired my fear and shame, this formative relationship with my father took on an unexpected role. As a gay man, this relationship still permeates my being.

These images are created by printing two and three negatives simultaneously, each struggling for attention on the photographic paper.

Frank Yamrus
Spring 1993