People, Places, Things: Art by Essie Graham

Reception with the Artists: Saturday, July 2, 2022 (6-8 PM)

The Bath House Cultural Center presents People, Places, Things, an exhibition of photographs by North Texas artist, Essie Graham.

The photography-based works in this exhibition weave thru a variety of people, places and things that surrounds us in our daily lives. Some of the characters that appear on Essie’s work seem familiar because we have seen or heard of them before. Other subjects are not as recognizable, but they command a powerful presence, nevertheless. The artist finds inspiration in her physical environment, and she depicts locations and settings that she and some of the viewers have seen before, as well as worlds created through her image manipulation that many people wish that they could visit. Essie is not only interested in human and environmental subjects. She is also attracted to the everyday objects that we see and often fail to observe carefully. The artist finds beauty and awe in the textures, shadows, lines, colors, contrast, and complexity of the frequently overlooked ordinary things.

Essie’s alteration of her images with symbols, text, and textures contribute to their engaging nature and dreamlike appearance. She uses her photography as a vehicle to share specific moments in time that evoke a sense of curiosity or emotion in a viewer, as her wish is to make people think outside the box, when it comes to photography.

When describing her work, Essie declares: “I use photography to document the world around me. I make pictures that call attention to things that other people often overlook. My work can be recognized by a timeless and ethereal quality where the imperfections of the subject, camera, or technique are often highlighted as an integral part of the image. I use all types of cameras in my work, though most often, older film cameras and Polaroid materials, which can give surprising results at times. My goal is to take pictures that make people think outside the box, to look at things differently, unconventionally or from a new perspective.”

Official Site