Juror: Emma Powell
Gallery exhibition: December 6, 2018 - January 5, 2019
Juror's Statement
I was honored to review so many remarkable and intriguing photographs. Thank you to all the artists who contributed their work. I believe it is imagination that connects the images in this selection, both the artist’s creative intent as well as the imagination inspired in the viewer.
When reviewing the images for Fictional Narrative, I found myself particularly drawn to images that made me curious about their greater context or storyline. These images made me want to envision the world they came from. I also looked for the mysterious images that conveyed intimate details while also relating to more universal themes. I was impressed by how aesthetically compelling these images are. From depth of atmosphere to elements of design, these images stood out to me for their visual strength.
To me, fictional narratives in photography allow us the freedom to explore our own lives through metaphor and fantasy, while also giving us room to nurture our creativity and escape from the mundane. Please take the time to be immersed in the stories these images tell and see where they take you.
Emma Powell
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About the Juror
Emma Powell is an assistant professor of art at Colorado College. Powell graduated from the College of Wooster, and received her MFA in photography from Rochester Institute of Technology. Her work often examines photography's history while incorporating historic processes and other devices within the imagery.
“My photographic work focuses on fictional narrative. I create art that visualizes curious scenarios in order to convey a message or feeling instead of a record of a moment. I utilize a range of hand-applied photographic emulsions in order to visualize the distance between fantasy and reality, as well as to make prints that appear as objects instead of windows. The photographic processes I use are chosen intentionally to evoke another place or time that is removed from the every day, adding layers of narrative meaning through historical references or material qualities.”
Emma Powell's website
Svala's Saga
Call for Entries
Photographic fictional narratives read like fairytales rather than memoirs. They leave clues rather than solve mysteries. At times, they are constructed by the artist with a specific intention in mind – a staged setting, art-directed gazes and gestures, and allegorical metaphors. Other times, the images are found in landscape or through man-made materials that represent universal qualities of the personal, human experience. At its best, personal narratives create curiosity while recounting intimate or imagined stories — with unique endings for each viewer.
Send us your photographs that tell a story, staged or captured, dreamt or found, whether individual images or a cohesive set of images.
We are very pleased that Emma Powell will be jurying and curating this exhibition. She will select approximately 35 images for exhibition in the gallery, and 35 for our Online Gallery Annex. The recipients of the Juror’s Award and the Director’s Award will each be entitled to a personal portfolio review by Ms. Powell.
Click on images to enlarge.
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