Photographers have a wonderful ability to turn ordinary surroundings into an otherworldly realm. Optical illusions, chemistry, and the mechanics of modern tools, have opened new possibilities for artists to untether their imaginations. Artists exploring make-believe use their dreams and memories as subject matter. Their work distorts reality, making everyday objects and environments alien and magical. Photographers construct their own fantasies, creating alternate worlds that straddle the line between reality and fiction. For Fact and Fantasy, The Kiernan Gallery seeks images that explore the unearthly and strange.

About the Juror:

Melanie Craven has exhibited her photographic work both in the United States and abroad. She was first published in Hayen’s Ferry Review in 2003 with her Identical Otherness series that she continues to work on in collaboration with her identical twin Michelle. In 2006 she was included in Collotype Past, Present and Future in conjunction with the exhibition at The Foyer Gallery at the Center for Fine Print Research in Bristol, England. Recently, her work was included in Jill Enfield’s Guide to Photographic Alternative Processes.

Over a decade ago Melanie Craven and her sister Michelle founded Tilt Gallery. Tilt was first conceived as a studio and darkroom space showing work during First Friday Art Walks in the reviving Grand Avenue Arts District in Phoenix. With Cravens support and devotion the intimate gallery quickly evolved and filled a niche for representing and exhibiting leading photographic image makers. In 2012 with nearly a 100 exhibitions under her belt, Melanie Craven moved Tilt from its home in Phoenix to the Arts District in Old Town Scottsdale. In Tilts new location Craven continues to offer individual artist exhibitions, juried and group shows and serves the local art community.