St. Petersburg, FL – The Leslie Curran Gallery @ ARTicles proudly presents the exhibition BORDERLANDS: Lissa Hatcher in conjunction with St Pete’s 2nd Saturday ArtWalk on Saturday, April 8th, 6-9pm.
Lissa Hatcher’s award winning photographs are highly conceptualized and choreographed productions full of fantastic characters in imaginary places. This exhibition focuses on places in between, worlds that are and are not, and the epic journeys of the characters navigating through. Working as a photographer, art director, and editor, it is often whispered that her shoots look like tiny movie sets where characters play out scenes like actors. Expect to see some of these characters live on opening night, along with objects and ephemera from her sets, with equal parts magical photography and performance.
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Lissa Hatcher describes her process:
“Most of the time I start from a dream or a character just shouts at me in the middle of the grocery store. I’m not saying I hear voices, but I hear voices. Once I decide an idea is strong enough to become something, I let myself think about it. I might let myself sketch it, but usually will save this step for later. Then I ask myself, ‘What would you need to shoot this and how much of that can be caught in camera? How can I make it real?’ This is the step where giant teacups and mermaid tails are born! Then comes casting the characters and collecting props. Getting cozy with a character is next. I try and live a day in their life. Who are they? What makes them tick? This step leads me to writing.
Now I will sketch, find a location, shoot, then edit….”
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Lissa Hatcher biography:
Lissa Hatcher is an award winning photographer, painter, and writer specializing in Surrealistic Fairytales. She has received awards from Kodak, Fuji and other industry leaders, with features in American Photo Magazine and Kodak.com, and a variety of other publications. Primarily self taught, she received certification as a Master in Photography from the Professional Photographers of America in 2011.
Lissa continues pushing boundaries by combining photography, costume design and paint to create mixed media pieces and writing short stories about her characters which will ultimately be published as a children’s book. After traveling the globe with her military husband, Lissa, a true Florida native, returns home. These days, you can find her making thoughts into things in Tampa, Florida.
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Print-ready images are attached to this email.
Image info:
Lissa Hatcher, Return to Sender, photograph, 2016
The Cove, photograph, 2017
The Promise, photograph, 2017
Return to Sender, from the series The Oddity Of Being:
Is about a little Octo girl who travels the world in her teacup just her size…always trying to find herself…trapped in the wrong world, sadly unbeknownst to her, she is one of a kind. She spends her day writing letters to someone who will understand her…but alas they always float back unanswered.
The Cove, from the series Ellender:
Is about a little mermaid that has been stitched together by an young scientist who believed in the Ocean legend, however upon asking his mother for one as a pet learns there is no such thing, and makes one of his own. Sadly he grows up leaves her behind…She is left to wonder this marshy meadow studying it’s strange creatures…She will never grow and never change, forever young.
Some notes about Ellender, her name is German and means stranger to and new land. She spends a lot of her time trying to catch birds…sadly to kill them as she can never understand why they can not breathe underwater.
The Promise, from the series Homecoming Day:
A group of angels were sent to earth to do job, healing and keeping souls clean. They discover not everything is black and white. They learn regret, loss, joy, sadness, trust, pain, love. The day we photographed them is Homecoming Day. Some want to go, weary and tired, and some want to stay, not only because they know their job is not yet done but because they see the beauty in it all.
For a complete resume and additional information about the artist and the exhibition, please contact the gallery at (727) 898-6061.
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