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At the age of 9, I received my first Polaroid camera from my grandmother. There was something so empowering about shooting an image, and immediately being able to hold that moment in my hand. I would put my “memories” in my photo album that I kept in my bedroom, and flip through them periodically. This was a powerful experience—being able to capture a 3 ½ x 4 ½” memory and hold it in a book to relive whenever I wanted to. When I turned 12, I was exposed to the B&W darkroom, and from the moment I experienced an image coming through on the paper in the developer tray, I was hooked. It was pure magic, and I knew this is what I had to do.
What I realize now, is that I was reacting to what the philosopher Roland Barthes referred to as the "uniqueness" of photography from other mediums. Barthes stated that a photograph represented both time and space. Once the shutter has been clicked, a photograph can only show what has past, but simultaneously represents the moment in the present. And, this idea of memory, moment, time, and space has kept me captivated every day since. |
H. Jennings Sheffield was born in Richmond, Virginia. She is a contemporary artist working in lens-based media, video, and sound. Sheffield received her BFA in Photography and Digital Media from the Atlanta College of Art, and her MFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio in Photography and New Media. Her core research is highly concept-driven inspired by memory, moment and time and often utilizes familial imagery to convey both the intimacy and the diverse roles and relationships individuals play within a family unit. The methodologies utilized to create her work can take up to two years to complete. As a result, Sheffield periodically takes on landscape-driven projects that begin with just her responding to the landscape. She is interested in landscapes that tend to be fleeting. Similar to her core research, Sheffield approaches the landscapes looking for and observing changes over time.
Sheffield is currently an Associate Professor of Art at Baylor University. Her photographs and work are in several collections throughout the United States and have been exhibited internationally with her latest work exhibiting at The Print Center in Philadelphia; Houston Fine Art Fair; Colorado Photographic Arts Center; Lens Culture; Living Arts of Tulsa; The ARTS at CIIS in San Francisco, California; Cambridge University (UK), and Medien Kultur Haus Wels, Austria. In addition to her research, Sheffield provides workshops and lectures all around the United States on topics including her artistic practices and methodologies, digital techniques in photography, and considering the image in a new context, outside of the traditional roles.
Sheffield is currently an Associate Professor of Art at Baylor University. Her photographs and work are in several collections throughout the United States and have been exhibited internationally with her latest work exhibiting at The Print Center in Philadelphia; Houston Fine Art Fair; Colorado Photographic Arts Center; Lens Culture; Living Arts of Tulsa; The ARTS at CIIS in San Francisco, California; Cambridge University (UK), and Medien Kultur Haus Wels, Austria. In addition to her research, Sheffield provides workshops and lectures all around the United States on topics including her artistic practices and methodologies, digital techniques in photography, and considering the image in a new context, outside of the traditional roles.