Jess Merritt: Cages & Labyrinths
“Cages and Labyrinths” are reoccurring themes in my photography. I use them as metaphors for the path I travel during my ongoing self-development and to represent the challenges that I’ve overcome along the way. The landscapes around me, consisting of both urban and rural New Mexico locations, comprise the labyrinth of life that I navigate. In myth and literature, labyrinths often serve as metaphors for personal journeys into the self and back into the world. In a labyrinth, there is one path to the center, and that same path leads you out. You make the choice to enter the path and start a journey. Along the way there are challenges to solve and obstructions to overcome that provide insight and opportunities for development.
Exhibit Dates
August 4-25, 2023
Exhibition Opening
Friday August 4th 5-8pm
Artist Book
Available soon
Selected Images
About the Artist
Jess Merritt is a multidisciplinary artist, who originally received a degree in fine art photography in the 1990s, and now has expanded to utilize a multimedia approach with which to explore and engage with the world around her. Since 2020, she has focused on exploring and mapping the narrative of her personal journey through contemporary southwestern landscapes and liminal spaces, balancing the juxtaposition between landscapes/cityscapes, dream states/physical locations, and hope/loss. Jess’ current media of choice are pinhole photography and watercolor painting. Pinhole photography is a primitive form of film photography, effectively a light proof cardboard box with a small aperture, or pin sized hole, on one side that is used to expose film. She combines her love of pinhole photography with urban exploration and backcountry solo hiking,