Leah Oates

Transitory Space Newfoundland, Canada Rene Mill 14
c-print of color photography
20 x 24 in.

Transitory Space Newfoundland, Canada Rene Mill 15
c-print of color photography
20 x 24 in.

The work I create first originates as a response to sites and objects that are ignored such as piles of trash, alleyways, overpasses or abandoned structures. In most instances the locations that I have shot in are not desirable travel destinations, are generally working class and are in industrial areas. This type of space has a personal resonance for me as I grew up in a very similar location in New England. I have a strong emotional connection, knowledge and familiarity with this kind of locality and want to document it in all of its poignant beauty.”

Oates has a B.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design and M.F.A from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Oates currently resides and works in Brooklyn, NY. Oates has had solo shows at venues including Real Art Ways, A4L Gallery, A Taste of Art Gallery, Sara Nightingale Gallery and the Sol Mednick Gallery at the Philadelphia University of the Arts.

© Leah Oates