Leah Frances’ MFA Thesis Exhibition will be on view from December 15–18, 2021 at the Temple Contemporary Gallery, Tyler School of Art & Architecture Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

“Actively using photography to explore the residue of time and human effort, I create portraits of place, mindful of the individuals who have been there before and may be there again. Imaginary one-to-one conversations with these ghosts, so to speak, allow me to invest in the possibility that within this divided nation, we might, one day, understand and respect each other. I harness light to grasp at moments of joy in complicated environments — an attempt to pull myself out of today’s prevailing us-versus-them mentality and the fear, anxiety, anger, confusion, and disappointment I have been feeling. If half the country is engaged in backward-looking, what are they seeing? With these images—my attempts to go to, and document, the things themselves — I hope to create an opening for deep looking and the exploration of multiple layers of meaning, an encounter with complex histories rather than one-dimensional, familiar tropes. “

Leah on IG