Emily Belz
Memory Lines
I have long held an interest in photographing domestic spaces. Lives are lived out within the spaces that we dwell—the details of our stories and emotions all emerge within the sphere where we create both space and identity. When my son was born four years ago, my relationship to my home—to the light, space, and time within it—changed dramatically; time crawled by in the early hours of the morning as I watched the sunrise and the light dance around the walls of my home. The different times of day and the quality of the light I experienced provoked strong emotions— a shadow could turn from daunting to comforting within a matter of minutes. During this time, my relationship with photography changed as well; no longer able to take my camera and go on long walks looking for pictures, I began imagining and experiencing photographs everywhere in my home, only occasionally taking my camera outside to make an image. This confinement of space pushed me inward and sharpened my eye towards recognizing the details of my environment and the underlying emotions they evoke.
I have brought this heightened awareness of light, space, and self, into the groupings of images that make up “Memory Lines”. These sequences mark the passing of time, while revealing small moments from the stories that have been built, and the traces of things that have been left behind. Sometimes dreamlike, sometimes more direct, I use myself as a subject and a constant to lace together the spaces, objects, and images that inform the way my memories are shaped and recorded.
Artist Bio
Emily Belz is a photographer and educator living in Cambridge, MA.
Belz has taught art and photography in variety of settings including Boston University’s Center for Digital Imaging Arts; Historic New England; and the Arlington Center for the Arts. She has worked extensively with immigrants and refugees, teaching digital photography with the Record of Truth program in refugee camps on the Thailand/Myanmar border, and English through photography at the Dorcas International Institute and the Cambridge Community Learning Center.
Belz has exhibited her photographs regionally in juried group exhibitions at the Photographic Resource Center, the Cambridge Art Association, and with the Women’s Caucus for Art. Her current imagery explores the connections between light, space, and memory in intimate groupings of small color photographs.
Belz holds a BA in photography and art history from Hampshire College, and an MA in art and design education from the Rhode Island School of Design. She was the recipient of a 2014 artist grant from the Cambridge Arts Council.
http://www.emilybelzphotography.com
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