Constance Thalken is an American intermedia artist known foremost for her photographic explorations of the complexities of loss. She has gained recognition for her ability to carefully convey subject matter that simultaneously engages the viewer perceptually, emotionally, viscerally, and intellectually. "Appropriately titled, Constance Thalken's Eyes Open Slowly is a gradual awakening to this deeper way of seeing. The suite of color photographs depicts taxidermy as a way of unraveling the thin boundary between human beings and our animal counterparts, as if placing both along the same spectrum of power, vulnerability, integrity and survival. The result of three years spent in a local taxidermy studio just outside of Atlanta, Eyes Open Slowly probes the quiet interior lives of animals, making death a living phenomenon to behold and apprehend." - Faith McClure