Stories - Paperback

by Jeremy Dennis (Author)

Native American stories and legends have traditionally served a role in dealing with the unknown for Native people, specifically to illustrate the power of nature and create a reverence for it. As a Native American myself, recreating these stories with digital photography is my way of dealing with my own mysteries - where I come from and who my people are. The medium of photography, and my specific method of creating photorealistic, yet supernatural, images is to transform these stories from myths and legends on a page to depictions of actual experience in a photo. Using photographys power to mirror reality, the stories subscribe to the modern standard of perceptual spiritual belief. The themes, aesthetics, morals, and stories of each image attempt to give Native American culture a contemporary agency to discuss the taboos of post-colonialism and universal global themes.

Author Biography

Jeremy Dennis (b. 1990) is a contemporary fine art photographer and a member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation. In his work, he explores indigenous identity, assimilation, and tradition from the lens of a millennial. Dennis was one of 10 recipients of a 2016 Dreamstarter Grant from the national non-profit organization Running Strong for American Indian Youth. He was awarded $10,000 to pursue his project, On This Site, which uses photography and an interactive online map to showcase culturally significant Native American sites on Long Island, a topic of special meaning for Dennis, who was raised on the Shinnecock Nation Reservation. He also created a book and exhibition from this project. Most recently, Dennis received the Creative Bursar Award from Getty Images in 2018 to continue his series Stories. In 2013, Dennis began working on the series, Stories-Indigenous Oral Stories, Dreams and Myths. Inspired by North American indigenous stories, the artist staged supernatural images that transform these myths and legends to depictions of an actual experience in a photograph. Residencies: North Mountain Residency, Shanghai, WV (2018), MDOC Storytellers' Institute, Saratoga Springs, NY (2018). Eyes on Main Street Residency & Festival, Wilson, NC (2018), Watermill Center, Watermill, NY (2017) and the Vermont Studio Center hosted by the Harpo Foundation (2016). He has been part of several group and solo exhibitions, including Stories, From Where We Came, The Department of Art Gallery, Stony Brook University (2018); Trees Also Speak, Amelie A. Wallace Gallery, SUNY College at Old Westbury, NY (2018); Nothing Happened Here, Flecker Gallery at Suffolk County Community College, Selden, NY (2018); On This Site: Indigenous People of Suffolk County, Suffolk County Historical Society, Riverhead, NY (2017); Pauppukkeewis, Zoller Gallery, State College, PA (2016); and Dreams, Tabler Gallery, Stony Brook, NY (2012). Dennis holds an MFA from Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, and a BA in Studio Art from Stony Brook University, NY. He is currently living and working in Southampton, New York on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation.