Abby Barrett
Dear, 2024
Beyond the Surface refers to the act of looking and truly seeing, a moment in which authenticity pierces a subject’s facade. It is a theme that speaks to the various signifiers hidden within our daily lives, waiting to be revealed. As it exists, photography is a domain that fuses layers of emotion, introspection and change, inviting on-lookers to embark on unknown experiences through captured moments of time. As photographers, we provide space for the crossroads of reality to be blurred, and through the haze, we reveal these hidden truths. With each carefully articulated work, there is a collection of connotations that stand behind it, waiting to be examined by its spectators and creators alike.
Beyond the Surface invites observers to reflect upon the facades of reality we accept within society. Viewers can move past the barriers of societal norms and contemplate experiences, realities and human relationships that are often left as an afterthought, resulting in a greater awareness of the human experience. As a group of graduating image-based makers, we dive deeper into hidden realities, slowly scratching away each layer until all is revealed. Our lens acts as a shovel with no bounds, searching through the depths of our perceptions of life. Artists’ works are carefully curated, spanning many forms of photography, digital form and installation. Each provides a visual insight into the world around us through diverse subject matter. Artists focus on themes from historical analysis to conceptual explorations of self—all demonstrating the hidden layers of the human experience.
Beyond the Surface reminds us to break away from constant masquerades despite our different truths and accept our hidden realities as a part of what makes us extraordinary. Each layer removed is a memento of what is to come, a moment that leads us to a true reality that lies just Beyond the Surface.
Curatorial Team:
Sidney Haqq, Creative and Curatorial Director
Sabrina Dewes, Financial Coordinator
Rahim Perez-Anderson, Project Manager
Bella Della Penna, Web Coordinator
Nicolette Lytle, Students Communications and Social Media Coordinator
