Trish Morrissy

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26/11/2019 – https://www.trishmorrissey.com/

Trish Morrissey is a contemporary photographer, who is interested in archives of family photos and telling fictional stories through them, filling the gaps in the story with her imagination

In 2001-2004 Morrissy was interested in fake family fictions, looking at her own family archive of photos they had collected over the generations

she thought about how they only show the good parts of life, serving as propaganda for the family of a normal life. as it hides the part of the family life others might not see.

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Seven Years ( 2001-2004 )

Seven years is a series of fictional family photos, created by Morrissey created this family with her sister, the title is a reference to the seven year age bap between the two sisters “aiming to deconstruct the trope of a family photograph” spanning fictionally from 1967 – 1987, each photograph has been given dates at random to follow this family fiction.

Morrissy acted as the director, author, and actor, staging herself and sister allowed her to a tightly controlled mise en scene, using period clothing and props from the 70’s and 80’s for a sense of authenticity.

https://www.trishmorrissey.com/works_pages/work-sy/statement.html

Morrissy draws note to this idea of a photo within a photo, while one sister is taking a photo of the other within the picture, we see an ivy branch creeping up the tree center frame, dividing the sisters, further enforced by the contrast of their clothing, echoing the photograph

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Front  (2005-2007)

Front is a series of photos taken on beaches in the UK and Melbourne as a study of family boundaries. Morrissy directed and acted in all the photos often playing the role of the mother as she would insert herself into the family temporarily. asking the mother to take the shot that was preprepared and setup by Trish.

The title of this series is also meant as a double entendre as it is meant to imply that its a facade on the beachfront,

Morrissy talks about the liminal lines in between of her photos showcasing the transitional states of life, in Hayley Cole 2006, the boundaries are blurred as she sits center frame with the dad and son either side. the beaches symbolise a limbo state between the land and the sea, acting as a location in the gray area.

Shot in 2006, the family were interested in a family reprise 10 years later, in 2016 Trish Morrissy, and the family met on the same beach, now larger family than before, which meant working to restrictions of both parties, and trying to get the same lighting as before.

https://www.trishmorrissey.com/works_pages/work-front/statement.html

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A Failed Realist

A Failed Realist is a work by Trish Morrissey in collaboration with her daughter when she was four and five years old, taking a series of portrait photos of Trish and allowing her daughter to explore her creative process using face paints in a mind free from conventions.

The recreation of fictional characters is brought to life by Morressy’s daughter’s desire to retell stories responding to a film or recalling an event she witnessed she saw like Pocahantas (2011) pulled from her immediate memory after watching the film under the same title from 1995.

Because of the influences around her daughter in the world, she would play to the stereotypes you might expect of her gender painting ladybugs.

Between the ages of four and five Morrissey’s daughter, didn’t have an understanding of the codes taught to us. Not knowing these conventions composition or colors she paints with benevolence, using red, yellow, and green for a background. Not obstructed by our ideals of how we interpret the world she is free to paint.

https://www.trishmorrissey.com/works_pages/work-tfr/statement.html

The Failed Realist

Growing older Trish Morrissey was interested in doing a reprise of “The Failed Realist”, titled “The Successful Realist” 6 years later after Cailtin’s motor skills and comprehension of the world around her has developed, now painting with a sense of realism.

In “Life and Death” Caitlin’s shows an understanding of separation between the two, conveying an imbalance in the world as one generation hands over the world to the next, ruined for us to clean

catlin

https://www.trishmorrissey.com/works_pages/work-work-successful-Real/statement.html

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Ten People in a Suitcase

In 2015, Trish Morrissey got the opportunity to do a residency in Finland with Gösta Serlachius Fine Art Foundation

https://www.trishmorrissey.com/works_pages/Work-ten/statement.html

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When asked “ how do you advertise and promote your work?”

She replied “ I’m admittedly not the best at self promotion with online social media’ stating her website  https://www.trishmorrissey.com/ is in need updating, however, she mentioned “networking at events and through word of mouth are both great ways of promoting your own work”