| About Memory's Dying Dream | A Mother's Passing in Words & Images |

ARTIST'S STATEMENT: As a Chaplain for Heartland Hospice for over 8 years, death and dying has become something I can never become used to or shut off from. At times it can be very difficult and troubling to observe and participate in; at other times filled with blessing and grace. Each family’s emotions and dynamics are integrated into the fabric of the life passing. Their history, good and bad, can define the moments shared and lived. In this personal walk in faith and doubt I came to my Mother’s last days not knowing the how or the why of my reactions. As a son and acting as caregiver with my sister, I soon realized that everything I thought I knew was lost in the emotions felt. My Mother was and is my life and history. Her passing defined in me a loss I never believed I would live out even to this day. As an artist I discovered a need to express the loss I was feeling and in some way to hide from it. Stepping out of my comfort zone I chose to capture the images as I lived them: close, intimate and personal. Taking my cell phone I began to record the last 10 days of my Mother‘s life. In the sharing of these moments I hope to bring a sense of belonging, of family, of blessing to you the observer. I know it will bring memories, though faded, to some, together with the dread of living them again, and to others, curiosity. My greatest hope is that you will discover the blessing that I lived: that blessing and grief live together as one; and that death can give life. 　E Raddatz Limited Edition Book Available Memory's Dying Dream will be available for purchase in book form during the exhibition at LEDE Studio & Gallery. The photographs and narrative that comprise the show are included in the book, in a sparse and sensitive presentation. The book will be available for $27.95, and can be signed by the artist during the opening reception May 13, 2011. "This published version of Memory's Dying Dream | A Mother's Passing in Words & Images addresses a universal truth in a soul-stirring yet sensitive way. Through his own artist's approach to processing the pain of grief, Eric has created a bound balm that is a gift for us all."  -Ginger Meek Allen

About the Artist  Eric Raddatz’s photography, for the last 40 years, has brought a collection of abstract images captured from the streetscapes, junkyards and parking garages that surround our everyday lives. These fine art photographs reveal a world of small wonders left behind, the drips, scratches, dents and peelings, the sights ignored but always seen. This is the first book that Eric has published and represents a new direction in his art. Eric’s work is part of a permanent collection in Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina’s Corporate Headquarters in Chapel Hill and the Duke University Hospital in Durham, NC. His work has also been exhibited in recent years in the Raleigh Contemporary Gallery, and The Cotton Company and Sunflower Studio, Wake Forest, NC. and in many private collections in California, Washington, Virginia, and North Carolina. Eric Lives in Raleigh, NC with his wife, Bonnie. Visit Eric's Website here. A Word From LEDE : As art has the power to reveal both the light and the dark of the human condition, part of our mission at LEDE is to present shows that tell that story and send the viewer away with a sense of hope and joy in the midst of it all. Mortal death is a universal reality. Beauty can come from ashes, and, as Eric said, blessing and grief can indeed live together as one. We are pleased to bring you Memory's Dying Dream  | A Mother's Passing in Words & Images.

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************