For the next few weeks, I will be sharing work that seen at PhotoNOLA….

It’s not easy turning the camera inward, and even harder turning the camera on our physical selves.  It was a complete pleasure to spend time with Jennifer McClure’s emotional and symbolic work at PhotoNOLA–photographs based on the exploration of self, but also offering a way of narrating one’s life and experiences through color, gesture, and place. Living in New York City, Jennifer uses the camera to ask and answer questions. Most importantly, she wants to know why anyone ever gets out of bed in the morning. Jennifer turned the camera on herself after a long illness limited her access to other people. She is interested in appearances and absences, short stories, poetry, and daydreaming.

Jennifer was born in Virginia and raised all over the Southeast.  The child of a Marine, she moved frequently and traumatically. Photographs were the proof that she lived in this place, was friends with those people. She decorated her walls with traces of her past. Pictures became anchor points. After acquiring a B.A. in English Theory and Literature, Jennifer began a long career in restaurants.  She returned to photography in 2001, taking classes at the School of Visual Arts and the International Center of Photography. She is currently a teaching assistant at ICP.

Images from Music from a Farther Room