INTRODUCING ERIN PURCELLE
I emerged from my mother’s womb in Southern California. My dwelling lies approximately 45 minutes south of Los Angeles and 10 minutes from the Pacific Coast. Those are just about the only pleasant things I acknowledge concerning my hometown. I’m more than ready to leave the nest and wander new lands. I turned 18 years old on March 4th. A friend of mine in middle school had started a blog consisting of kids in the neighborhood and around school. She asked me to contribute to it, so I simply borrowed cameras and took basic portraits of my friends. Although I’ve been taking photos since I was 13, it never actually entailed any creative process or vision. I was more focused on studio art (painting, drawing, sculpting, etc.) and didn’t regard photography as an intuitive and efficient form of expression for me till I was 16, midway into my sophomore year of high school. I was given a digital SLR Canon Rebel Xsi, my first camera. (I have obtained 7 additional cameras and only shoot 35mm and Polaroids now). But, since then, an intrinsic and idiosyncratic relationship began evolve into what it is now. Taking photos allows me to encapsulate the briefness of life and its brilliance through my eyes. I intend to keep it mildly objective by obscuring the subject’s faces and settings in all of my images, so that the viewer simply identifies with the human subject through acknowledging the fact they are also human and living while concurrently communicating the ambiguity and resonance life generally holds. Using double exposures allows me to transmit a fading effect that visually parallels the transient longevity of life. This, with the combination of bold colors, creates the duality I strive to achieve and exhibits the reverie I live through. I don’t want to plainly record using an image, but share the world through my mind’s eye. Physical manipulations, such as scratching and dousing prints with chemicals, permits me to express a general idea in my own personal manner. All these aspects of my work relay the ominous, fleeting, mystifying, and hauntingly beautiful qualities of human existence. Since photography became such a crucial component of my being, I pay a more significant amount of attention admiring and observing my surroundings. It gives me purpose, and makes me feel more fulfilled than anything life has ever offered me. Without photography, I would have an insufficient means of expression and disoriented passion. Currently, my favorite camera is my Spectra. This is a photo of my friend Claudia. We originally got together to study for a major test coming up, but ended up going on an adventure and catching tadpoles after I took photos of her. I hold such an immense amount of fondness for Alison Scarpulla, ƒenk, and Ellen Rogers. They create such astounding and transcendental realms of splendor.
