Jennifer Erbe

Dislocation

I was raised as an only child by adoptive parents who loved me dearly, but never really understood me. I never fit the way my mother wanted me to be. I was a curious kid who spent a lot of time by myself. I loved to explore outside, finding clay and picking wild strawberries. My hair was tangled, and invariably I had dirt on my knees, despite the smocked dresses and patent leather shoes she favored for me.

The photographs in this project document spaces in the middle–between two worlds. Trails that wind along the Charles River and back onto commercial neighborhoods. City parks and urban residences. They contain unseen characters and stories. These places ask questions of me when I’m walking: Are these stories about the family I grew up with, or the one I never knew? Am I making narratives? Self-portraits?

These in-between spaces feel familiar. They inhabit two opposing identities–natural beauty and practicality, industrial spaces and beautiful light, nature and concrete. The odd character of these spaces reminds me that being a little off is okay. Often there is a human presence in an unexpected place, or a portal that calls me to come and explore. Usually, though, the portals only expose more questions. Questions about myself, little hints of who I am–but no answers.

Artist Bio

Jennifer Erbe is a photographer and mixed media artist based in Arlington, MA. Her work focuses on transitional spaces, and the intersection of landscape and street photography. She can often be found photographing the environment around her, finding moments of humor and absurdity. Her love of the outdoors and the quirkiness of life inform her work.

Jennifer has exhibited at The Griffin Museum of Photography, Tufts University Gallery, TheNave Gallery and many alternative spaces in the Boston area. Her work has been featured in the photography journal Catching Light.

Jennifer studied photography at the Art Institute of Boston and graduated with a diploma from The Museum School in 2002. She holds a B.S in Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University, and worked as a biochemistry researcher for 7 years. She has recently worked as a Teacher Naturalist at Joppa Flats in Newburyport, MA, as a guest instructor at Wright-Locke Farm, Winchester, MA, and a citizen scientist with Earthwise Aware.