Fiona by Holly Andres

Holly Andres

Currently residing in Portland, OR

Website: http://hollyandres.com

Work Statement:
The re-occurring themes in my work explore the experiences in my life that have impacted and constructed my identity. I am interested in revisiting, recreating and preserving that history, but am especially fascinated with the interweaving of fact and fiction, and finding a place in which autobiography and fictitious narration come together.

The photographs that I'm submitting are from a series titled, Stories From a Short Street, which is an on-going project inspired by childhood experiences. For this series I have created a fictitious group of siblings that are loosely based on the archetypes of my own family. Each image is constructed to enact a specific moment, convey identity through space, and depict a psychological portrait.

My photo process has been informed and influenced by my early training in traditional painting, my interest in religious Renaissance art, and my nostalgia for childhood television programs such as the After School Specials and Little House on the Prairie.

Bio:
I was born in 1977, the youngest daughter of ten children in rural western Montana. My older siblings voted to name me Holly; born just two days before Christmas my mom told me I was the best Christmas gift ever received. Growing up in a large family, money was scarce and since we didn't have many toys, we entertained ourselves through imaginative storytelling and art making. Organizations like the community church and 4-H gave me my first outlets for creative projects such as photography.

A full-tuition scholarship moved me to the Art Institute of Seattle were I studied architecture and illustration. I received a BFA in painting from the University of Montana, but it was while pursuing my graduate work at Portland State University, that I discovered my love for film-making and photography.

Selected 2006 Exhibitions and Film Festivals include the following:

+ 2006 Oregon Biennial at the Portland Art Museum
+ Annual National Juried Exhibition at Newspace Center for Photography
+ Current Photography: New Directions, Clark College
+ POW! (Pictures of Women), Quality Pictures Contemporary Art
+ Private Contemplations/Private Conversations, Salem Art Association
+ 31st Annual NW Film + Video Festival (Honorable Mention)
+ Portland International Film Festival
+ Portland Experimental Film Festival (Gearhead Filmmaker's Grant)
+ Perpetual Art Machine in New York