Ms. Jennings is an award-winning photographic artist whose body of work is predominantly made up of self-portraiture. Double-exposure, long-term exposure, and serial imagery are a few of the techniques she employs, while life/death and rebirth, autobiography, and narrative are frequent themes that she explores.
For these series, Ms. Jennings worked closely with several high school interns at the Bidwell House last summer and other staff members including herself to reconstruct a visual narrative based on 18th and 19th century oral traditions, antiques, and architecture. The images were also prompted by the interpretation of the Bidwell family history given on the museum tour. In an eerie sort of tableau narrative, these text and image pairings interpret the past using a contemporary technique. The unmistakable thread woven through this network of images, Ms. Jennings seems to be reminding us as she turns the lens on the hearth and the interior, was after all woven by the women.
The Sheffield Historical Society will host an opening reception for the artist at the Old Stone Store on Saturday, April 5, from 6-8 pm. For those interested in knowing more about the images, Ms. Jennings will also host an informal gallery talk on Friday, April 18, at 7:30 pm. For more information about the artist and her work, please visit www.joannajennings.com.
Rescued and restored by the Society in the early part of this decade, The Old Stone Store is the Society's latest acquisition to its seven-building campus. Dating from 1834 it is the oldest existing retail building in the town, and now functions as the Society's gift shop and exhibition space. The Old Stone Store is open weekends, Saturday 10 am to 2 pm and Sunday 11 am to 3 pm, or by appointment. It is located on the Green in Sheffield. For more information about Sheffield Historical Society, please visit us on the web at www.sheffieldhistory.org.