2023 MFA Photography Thesis Exhibition

Body Breeze Earth presents the graduate thesis exhibitions of Jessica Hays and Erica McKeehen in Columbia College Chicago's Photography Department. Jessica Hays presents pieces from two bodies of work, The Sun Sets Midafternoon, which combines image, text, and video to explore climate grief and solastalgia through the lens of wildfire, and Horizon Line, a monumentally scaled handmade artist book rooted in experiences of reverence and appreciation for the land while recognizing it as both open and divided concurrently.

Erica McKeehen (who performs as Greta-X) combines imagery from her long-term portraiture projects Secret Mermaid and REVEAL, which profile McKeehen's close friends and fellow burlesque performers and sex workers, Secret Mermaid and Kitty Tornado (respectively), alongside her own self-portraits in Days of Rust, to present nuanced views of femme sexuality, autonomy, and experience.

During the Masters Showcase on May 11, there will be a poetry reading by Jessica Hays at 7:00pm. During the reception on May 12, there will be a poetry reading by Jessica Hays at 5:30 pm, followed by a reading by Erica McKeehen at 5:45 pm.

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