Kelli Connell

(American, b.1974; resides in Chicago, IL)

A single model plays two roles in each of the photographs in this portfolio from Kelli Connell. Connell uses elements of private relationships she has experienced herself or witnessed in others to inspire these two-person scenes. She then uses Photoshop to stitch multiple medium-format negatives together to create the juxtapositions in the final photographs. The result is a multi-faceted questioning of duality: of masculine and feminine, exterior and interior, static and evolving. Appropriately, Connell’s intentions here are two-fold. One the one hand she exposes her autobiographical questioning of sexuality and gender roles, particularly as they influence identity in relationships. On the other hand she is also interested in how the response of viewers reveals their own notions of identity and social constructs.

Kelli Connell was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1974. She received a BFA in photography from University of North Texas (1997) and an MFA in photography from Texas Woman’s University (2003), both in Denton, Texas. Since 2003 solo exhibitions of her work have been held at Zone VI Photography Gallery, Dayton, Ohio; The Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio; Fotofest, Lawndale Art Center, Houston, Texas; East Fine Arts Gallery, Texas Woman’s University, Denton, Texas; Barry Whistler Gallery, Dallas, Texas; and McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, Texas. Her work is in the collections of Microsoft; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; San Marcos Fine Arts Center, Texas; The Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio; and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas.