I discovered the work of Jessica Bruah over at one of my favorites sites, FlakPhoto. I am really impressed by her work. Jessica has a different way to see and a creative way to communicate with images. Looking at her work reminds me that we are living exciting times in photography with incredible talent shown by these up and coming photographers.
My body of work titled “Stories” began when I decided to merge my love for fiction with my interest in photography. I began to see each image as its own visual narrative. Because the scenarios depicted are vague and bizarre, the viewers have to interpret each story for themselves. Each photograph contains an anonymous character, seemingly unaware of the lens, whose face is never shown. Although I am playing the dual role of photographer and subject, these self-portraits do not concern the notion of self but rather the idea of constructing reality. Every image is carefully assembled, aided by costumes, props, studio lighting, and posing. All these elements, along with the manipulation of a view camera, bring a surrealistic and often amusing quality to the images. In addition to fiction, I draw inspiration from film and any work that discusses gender, identity, and/or domesticity. Some of my current influences include Tina Barney, David Hilliard, Anna Gaskell, Gregory Crewdson and Cindy Sherman. The pictures in this series are scanned from 4×5 in. negatives, cleaned up in Photoshop (without manipulating the images), and printed to 16×20 in. or 20×25 in. on archival digital paper. – Jessica Bruah [from Hey Hot Shot]
You can see images at her website and also at her blog that unfortunately is not updated often but has excellent images. Jessica Bruah is one of the artists featured in Flash Forward: Emerging Photographers 2007 that FlakPhoto is covering in a featured section. You may like to see the work by other photographers selected, quite an excellence in photography. Jessica was also selected as a winner of the Hey, Hot Shot Winter 2006 and her work is part of the Photo-eye’s Photographer’s Showcase Gallery.
Now in its third year, The Magenta Foundation’s Flash Forward Emerging Artist Program once again does what its name implies: it freezes a brief moment in time, preserving it for closer inspection and demonstrating the promise of what is to come in the international photography community. Flash Forward shows us a cross-section of work by those who see the world differently from the rest of us, and who are compelled to make this vision a reality. At the beginning of their careers, they are still exploring and committing themselves to their individual visions—a working out of ideas and influences that is inspiring to watch.
