Artist Statement
The self-portrait is my primary tool in art making. My photographs explore the struggle and balance between the choices one makes and the uncontrollable circumstances that intervene with these choices.
The process of making each photograph is very personal, not only because of my connection with the image or the range of individual prop-symbols found within each photograph but with the slow, meditative process of taking the photograph. This is especially the case when I put myself in front of the camera. The scene is “previsualized” but, since I use no mirrors to check my positioning, the poses are unique to the moment. Often, while waiting for the shutter to trigger, I am drawn into a meditative state allowing the emotions conveyed in each portrait to fully form from within.
Through the personal exploration of photographing the self I am both preserving who I am in that moment and finding that even in times of uncertainty one can look inward for happiness, abounding love and the achingly beautiful realizations of sacred and finite human life.
Jessica Somers is a photographer specializing in historic photographic techniques and self-portraiture.
Jessica has been in love with photography for most of her life. She was exposed to the act of picture making through her grandfather, an avid amateur photographer, and in the family bathroom-turned-darkroom after sunset. Here, her parents would allow her to witness actual magic as she stood over the chemical trays watching an image appear where only a simple white sheet of paper was before. As a kid she received a Kodak disc camera and became addicted to the act of expressing her individual view of the world from the 4 foot high perspective of a seven year old. Her height has since increased but her addiction continues.
Jessica’s work has been exhibited nationally, has been published in various periodicals and is represented by the Catherine Couturier Gallery in Houston, TX. Her research on alternative processes and select photographs are published in the 3rd edition of The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes by Christopher James. She currently teaches photography throughout Connecticut and at Lesley University College of Art and Design in Cambridge, MA.
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