Aimee McCrory:
Roller Coaster / Scenes from a Marriage
May 23rd to July 7, 2024
© Aimee McCrory
This body of work began during the pandemic when Don and I were forced to spend all of our time together. 'Scenes from a Marriage' draws upon my background in theater to create a pseudo-documentary version of our relationship. At our age, challenges arise out of simple everyday life. With intended honesty, intimacy, and humor, 'Scenes From a Marriage' expresses a variety of moments most long-term relationships face. In our culture, growing old is often accompanied by feelings of shame. Terms such as ‘losing your wits’, ‘becoming irrelevant' and ‘being abandoned’ haunt older individuals. My goal as an artist is to raise awareness regarding the joys and challenges of growing old together.
Being the photographer, the director, and the actor in almost every scene, the logistics were complex to juggle. I manipulated our personal domestic circumstances just enough to heighten elements of mystery. Questions implied in the photographs can then be answered by the viewer. The array of responses may say more about the viewer's domestic relationships than about the marriage between Don and me. In this sense, the work can be both a window and a mirror — Whatever is felt is not necessarily only about us but may also be about the viewer.
Interestingly, appropriating our marriage as subject matter serves as a "meta" experience for Don and I. The making of the work itself has become an integral part of our marriage. Thereby, it functions as an integral component in the drama. When I pull back my lens to "document" our life together, it becomes a mirror reflecting onto itself. In this sense, it strikes at the heart of photography.
Opening Reception & Book Signing
Thursday, June 6th, 6pm – 8pm
About the Artist, Aimee McCrory
Aimee B. McCrory’s photography centers on self-portraits, feminist themes, aging, and complex family dynamics. Her current project titled, “ROLLER COASTER / Scenes from a Marriage” was recently published by Kehrer Verlag.
Recent achievements include her recognition as a Top 50 in Photolucida’s Critical Mass 2023 competition, an Honorable Mention in the Julia Margaret Cameron Awards in July, and a similar mention in the 19th Annual Pollux Awards held in Barcelona in February. In May 2023, her work was featured at the Kolga Tbilisi Fotofest in Georgia, and she participated in The Houston Center of Photography’s 40th Annual Show in June 2023. In 2022, she received a Special Merit award from the Texas Photographic Society and secured second place in TPS’s New Visions 2022 competition.
Aimee’s work has been showcased in several publications, including Huck Magazine in May2023, Pictura Gallery’s blog in August 2023, and the Texas Photographic Society’s Member News newsletter.
Through her Photo Forum membership at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts Houston she maintains a vital relationship with the photographic arts community in Texas and beyond.
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Each piece begins with a gut instinct, a feeling, or a story begging to be told. At 71, age is a theme I wrestle with both personally and artistically. I find that the reality of my years creates a heightened experience of being alive where every minute counts. The process of growing old is not a culturally glamorous one, and growing old is infused with vulnerability, fragility and fierceness. My greatest influence is the relationship I have with myself and I dive into my own private library of feelings and experience for inspiration.
Born and raised in Houston, I am influenced by both the suburban landscape and nature reserves and parks. I often seek comfort in the wild places of Texas. I channel and reinterpret the spirits and phenomena I encounter in nature and they become my photographs.
Questions?
For questions about this exhibition, please contact Exhibitions
Exhibitions and Programs Coordinator, exhibits@hcponline.org or 713-529-4755, ext 16.