statement

The greatest failure of photography is its inherent nostalgia. It forces us to constantly look backwards, filling present voids with imperfect depictions of the past. Photographs are objects that promise something permanent yet their very existence is a direct result of how ephemeral the experiences they represent are. They fall pitifully short in capturing the essence of what they want to represent, yet we still expect them to do it. My work, while stemming from the intimate experiences of an individual, investigates our relationship, expectations, and attachment to the photographic image. Each photograph asserts itself as a permanent document while also exposing the failure and impossibility of preservation. The images are pragmatic and direct, photographed with an objective distance that hovers between the intimate and the analytic. I'm interested in questioning why we both need and want these images and where the line is drawn between these two ideas. Documentation of past realities can be reflected on with both sorrow and eagerness as the presence of such images presents a glimpse of our past, present, and future all in one moment. The expectation that photography can conserve our presence in the world is undone through sequenced images of fractured ice, ailing pets, and the nostalgia of vernacular images and documents.

bio

born: 1986, Middletown, New York

education

The University of Iowa, MFA, 2013
The University of Iowa, MA, 2012
Murray State University, BFA, 2008

selected awards/honors

Artist Grant and Residency, Vermont Studio Center, 2013
Virgil M. Beall Fellowship, The University of Iowa, 2013
Honorable Mention, Midwest Photo Emerge, Midwest Center for Photography, 2012
Paula Patton Grahame Scholarship, The University of Iowa, 2012

selected solo or two-person exhibits

I Can't Love Nobody Else But You,Sheetz Gallery of Penn State Altoona, Altoona, Pennsylvania, 2014
An Island is Unreliable, Janice Mason Art Museum, Cadiz, Kentucky, 2014
Needing A Want, Mary Ed Mecoy Hall Gallery, Murray, Kentucky, 2014
When Two Things Are Racing, We Will Root For One Of Them, Porch Gallery, Iowa City, Iowa, 2013

selected group shows

27th annual McNeese Works on Paper Exhibition, Abercrombie Gallery, Lake Charles, Louisiana, 2004
The Visual Narrative, Minneapolis Photo Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2014
Show, Peanuts, Snow, Eve Drewelowe Gallery, Iowa City , Iowa, 2013
Right Here Over There, Lexington Art League, Lexington, Kentucky, 2012