I had the good fortune to meet and hear Kelli Connell speak recently at the Houston Center for Photography. She gave a relatively short presentation about her work, what motivates her, and why she does it. I love hearing presentations like this, as they gives me a lot of insight into how artists approach their work.
I had the same reaction that many first-time viewers have when they look at Kelli’s work. At first perusal, I noticed the interaction between two women in a variety of situations. After the third or fourth frame, I realized that these two women look the same. I went back to the first image to have another look. (Or maybe they’re sisters. Or maybe they’re made up to look the same). No, they were the same woman in each image. They were dressed differently, but definitely the same woman. I had to wonder if it was some sort of photomontage of if the two women were sisters or made to look the same.
Another common mistake that fist time viewers make when looking at Kelli’s work (and another mistake I made) is the assumption that the woman in the photo is Kelli Connell. In fact, it’s not. She works with a model to assemble believable situations, interactions between two women. As Kelli explained, her work is made from composites of two or more images (she starts with film), and then assembles them in Photoshop. The photographs are part of a large body of work named Double Life, which she has developed for more than 11 years now.
During her presentation, Kelli points out that other photographers long before her have made compositions. She cited photographer Oscar Rejlander, a Victorian photographer who made some of the earliest photo montages back in 1859, as just one example. Kelli’s work is one way to externalize internal thoughts and feelings. The emotional tone of her work is important, which she describes it as subtle and quiet in tone, yet charged.
Kelli’s images show she is fascinated by relationships and the changes they can undergo over time. She often uses her personal experiences or perceptions to build an idea. It is important that many of the images use two images of the same person: one interpretation is that these are two side of the same self.
Kelli works hard to ensure that the material is fresh from both a technical and conceptual framework. She doesn’t want to repeat the same concept even after 11 years of working this series.
Her model is Kiva Jacobson, a former classmate and artist in her own right. The relationship between the two has worked well. Jacobson is a little more extroverted. Kelli mentioned she attempted the same series of images with a male model, but found the process wasn’t working out as she had expected. Her final images are based on her own experiences, perceptions and expectations and she admits: “I have no experience being a man.”
One final thought that occurred to me after her presentation: 11 years is a long time to explore an idea. It is still fresh to her and clearly reflects an ongoing passion. Most artists don’t have that kind of dedication.
Her work can be seen on her website: http://kelliconnell.com/.