Artist Statement

My interest is in the visual portrayal of memory as a multi-layering of experience, creating a world in which thoughts, ideas, and objects coexist in relationship to each other. The digital collage removes the image from a direct interpretation of external reality, weaving visual tapestries, which integrate time and memory.

The collages frequently reference my own family history while triggering collective memory, blurring the lines and distinction between fact and fiction.

Through electronic manipulation, I am able to rearrange content to reflect emotional reactions to events remembered, the power of memory to transform, and the ability of the constructed image to transform memory.

Recent work uses the frame as a stage, creating a figure/ground relationship to establish narratives that address issues of family and relationships, still maintaining the dreamlike quality that overlaps with memory. The images are assembled from fragments to create the depth and appearance of the lens based photograph.

A series entitled Gates, Thresholds and Pathways uses visual metaphor to explore archetypal passageways representing the transition from the exterior world of place to the interior world of thoughts and feeling while seeking a balance between the two.

Biographical Statement

Jacquelyn Tait Leebrick has resided in North Carolina since 1980. She is currently an Associate Professor in the School or Art and Design at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. She received a Masters of Fine Art from Clemson University and a Masters of Art from Florida State University. Feature article on Jacquelyn's artwork appeared in Digital Fine Art Magazine and Camera Arts magazine.

She has been exhibiting her photographs internationally, nationally and regionally for 25 years. Her artwork has received national and international recognition through awards, purchases and publications. . In summer 2007 Jacquelyn had a Mid-Career Retrospective at The Light Factory Contemporary Museum of Photography and Film 
in Charlotte, NC.

Jacquelyn has received two Creative Activity grants from East Carolina University.  In recent years, she has lectured and conducted workshops on traditional photography, digital imaging, Polaroid transfers, polymer lifts and the hand coloring of black and white photographs at universities throughout the US and at regional photographic conferences.

Courses Taught

Area Coordinator, photography

Courses include:

Introduction to Digital Photography
Advanced Digital Photography
Professional Practices for Photography
Graduate Photography Seminar
Color Photography