​Joann Wanamaker says of her work, "My camera is like having a miniature suitcase waiting to be unpacked and rearranged when my eye meets the viewfinder. 

I hope to create engaging juxtapositions in that blank rectangle by isolating a moment in time where the elements in each frame seem to have an intimate dialogue with each other while allowing the viewer to continue the conversation.

I'm inspired by memories of the halcyon days of my childhood; backyard sprinklers, fireflies and ice cream trucks.

There is no visual human interference within my frame, however the landscapes are just as much about the people who are not there.  Who lives around the corner? Who rode that bike? I'm hoping to preserve the past while posing questions about the present."

Jo Ann Wanamaker studied Fine Art and Art Education at SUNY Buffalo and received an M.F.A. from New York University.

She became a painter and a commercial illustrator, followed by a career in product and textile design. Photography allows all the layers of her creative past to merge together and transform into more personal statements that can resonate with the viewer.

To see Wanamaker's other entries go to this link:

www.laphotocurator.com/certain-places-curator-karen-klinedinst/exhibition-2/7

www.joannwanamaker.com

Kathryn Reichert says of her work, "Our lives unfold as a series of events in which the decisions we make simultaneously shape our understanding and definition of ourselves. 

Our personal narratives are crafted from circumstances we find ourselves in. We are constantly confronted with decisions.

Sometimes we make the right ones and sometimes we (arguably) don’t. Often, particularly poignant events leave impressions that weigh heavily on our minds. But one of the most fascinating things about the human mind is its ability to reconcile our actions based on the situation. We learn our lesson, alter our perspective to account for this new information and redesign ourselves. After enough time has passed, memories are tucked away and- like shedding a skin- we leave that iteration of our past self behind, striving to look only forward, to the new and improved version of ourselves. We applaud our growth as a more stable, mature human being. 

Of course, this serenity only lasts until a catalyst presents itself and all of those memories come flooding back. We are forced to once again confront the magnitude and consequences of all of these events. One can’t help but wonder if this was the place where your friendship fell apart or your love was born. This association rekindles the fragments of our past selves we grew from, forcing us to recognize and re-examine the person we once were and the person we have thus become.

My series “Places We Have Been” focuses on the evolution of identity materializing from ghosts of our former selves.

This is a very personal project; I began it as I was questioning how I had come to be the person I am. Why do I lie so much? Why do I avoid others? Where does all of this worry and guilt come from? I began to look at the landscapes that have played a significant role in my life and found that at first glance, images of these places were startlingly unfamiliar.

I remembered them in a way that was painted in emotion and memory; the landscape had evolved into more a psychological one.

To more accurately capture the significance of these places, I digitally painted objects into the landscape reifying the emotions that I attribute to each particular place. The wear-and-tear evident on these objects are meant to portray the passing of time.

Like the objects in each photo, each memory was once blindingly new and raw. The passing of time has taken some of their luster, leaving a whisper of their presence. A ghost, but certainly still present, much like the feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you return to a place you have not been for years."

Kathryn Reichert was born and raised in New Jersey. Her restlessness and love of adventure kept her traveling along the eastern seaboard whenever possible and she found she enjoyed photographing all of the moments along the way. She was stationed in Alaska as a soldier in the US Army and has remained since.

She returned to school in 2015 to pursue bachelor’s degrees in both business and the arts at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Her current projects utilize forced perspective and manipulation as a means of exploring imaginary places and "what-if" scenarios. She mainly shoots digital imagery but enjoys incorporating film and alternative processes into her workflow.

To see Reichert's other entries go to this link:

www.laphotocurator.com/certain-places-curator-karen-klinedinst/exhibition-2/9


www.kathrynreichert.com

Rachel Martin says of her work, "In 1969 my grandfather, his wife, and his two small sons moved into a house that was built explicitly for them.

In the style of the era, small homes in southern suburban neighborhoods were popping up everywhere.

Essentially “kit homes” each neighborhood had a few blueprint and finishing options. 48 years later, the family has spread, grown, lost members and yet, the house remains.

At 93 years old my grandfather still lives alone in that house, and its a living time capsule of his life, and by extension, all of our families lives. 

It’s this perfectly preserved sense of hard work and family and home that still draws me back to Shelby, North Carolina. Unlike so many new houses in the “keeping up with the jones’" driven style we often see today, this house was built for function; it was built for family and it was built for love.

Furnished over 48 years time, updated only when absolutely necessary, this house is still a homestead. An anchor and a gathering place for our family to reconvene. 

Although it was my father who grew up in this home, not myself, I am so strongly connected to these people and their history has so much shaped me, that it has become my home as well. There will be a day when we’ve all moved on to our bigger “better” places and roles in this world, but for as long as that home is filled with love and with family, it will always be home."

Rachel Martin is an artist based in Newton, MA. A recent graduate of the New England School of Photography, she has since spent a majority of her time working on documentary projects and cultivating a network of fine artists and industry professionals. 

Rachel has spent her life divided between two very different cultures. With both parents hailing from North Carolina, she spent the majority of her summers and holidays from school visiting her grandparents in their farm towns, and the school year in an urban environment. This divide cultivated a small town girl who just happened to have been raised in a booming metropolis.

Due to this, Rachel has spent much of her career trying to reconnect to those small seemingly unimportant places that many people often overlook. 

To see Martin's other entries go to this link:

www.laphotocurator.com/certain-places-curator-karen-klinedinst/exhibition-3/4

www.rachelmartin-photography.com