Kim Manchester

Artist Statement

These images are just the most recent set of my decades-long preoccupation of photographing the interior of cabins, trailers and places that are meant to feel just like Home but are not, at least not mine. For years I've struggled with the irresistible itch to 'get away' and have often done so by myself. While the inclination to make the image is inspired by a deep joy in observing of colors and texture as light illuminates each corner in ways unique to each location. These images are ultimately autobiographical and it's only now that I have begun to see my searching for what it was. What remains of a trip to the ocean then is now part of a pattern of moving away, withdrawing into a quiet sort of solitude by choice, rather than allowing myself to be surrounded but alone.

Artist Bio

Kim Manchester (they/them) is an educator & artist who relocated to the Pacific Northwest twenty-odd years ago and has been making images that explore the ways in which pattern, light, color and value interact in the world around them.

The idea of ‘Home’ and making images inside domestic and residential environments is a recurring theme in their work as is the interplay of light, time and state of mind as they move through those places.

Their work as an educator strives to empower students through using experiential learning opportunities, encouraging experimentation and reflection and through curriculum that seeks to de-colonize photography’s culture of singular authorship, emphasizing that every photograph is a collaborative act.

I See Now Where I Was Then 2, 2022