Samantha Lynn Croteau

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Samantha Lynn Croteau
2017 Annual Juried Competition 
Honorable Mention

Statement:
Wet is an ongoing photography series that explores pleasure, pain, and loneliness. The impetus for this work was a string of failures in my romantic relationships and a relocation to Los Angeles.  Los Angeles has been the ideal setting for this work; not only in it’s landscape and light, but in that it has always been a city where people’s hopes and expectations are tested, but rarely met. Like most residents of Los Angeles, I spend a lot of time in my car. Rather than looking for fast food, pressed juice or gas, I spend my time looking for signs of romance. Whether I come to the location spontaneously or through scouting, my time spent there is always brief. These photographs are largely autobiographical and allude to sexual experiences and fantasies. They are about the idea or desire to be touched more than the act itself. I employ portraits of male figures alongside neon signs to suggest the possibility of finding a companion. Bars, strip clubs, psychics, hotels, and bedrooms are all spaces charged with the potential for sexual intimacy. Oversaturated colors and dark shadows create a slick appearance in the photographs; despite the experiences they represent being anything but.

Bio:
Samantha Lynn Croteau (b. Lawrence, Massachusetts 1986) is a large format 4×5 color photographer based in Los Angeles, CA. She grew up in New Hampshire where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Photography and Media Arts from Chester College of New England in 2011. In 2014 she received a Master of Fine Arts in Photography from The San Francisco Art Institute, California. Her work was featured online in The Editorial Magazine in November 2015 and in Humble Arts Foundation Group Show 53 “On Beauty” in 2017.

Artist’s website: www.samanthalynncroteau.com