Rebecca Foley

2005 MFA, Photography: Indiana University, Bloomington, IN and 2002 BA, Art and Art History/English: Rice University, Houston, TX. Currently part-time instructor at Columbia College, Chicago, IL, teaching 19th Century Photographic Processes and Experimental Photography / Graphic Techniques.

"I come from a long tradition of collectors. Almost everyone in my family has specific objects they ritualistically purchase or save. Individually, each object speaks to a specific moment, but as a collection they represent a developing history.

My black and white prints combine nostalgic images of my family with photograms of dishes I inherited from my great-grandmother. In my work, I am interested in using historical photographic methods to create images because I feel they evoke a reference to time. I am interested in my own history, as well as the history of the medium I work with.

The other images are photographic quilts, each a composite of individual photograms of objects, digitally arranged in Photoshop. After making a digital print, the surface is decorated with stitching patterns, either inspired by the objects or borrowed from traditional quilting patterns. The idea of a quilt is the framework, where formal elements like patterning and stitching are used to organize objects like slides, stamps, or gum. That organization contributes to a visual layering of personal history, the history of the medium, and the history of the objects themselves."