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Jeremy Dennis, The Moon Person, 2017. Vibrachrome print, 18 x 26 inches. Photo courtesy the artist
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Jeremy Dennis (Shinnecock/American, born 1990), Wake, 2018. Archival Inkjet Print, 30 x 40 inches. Courtesy the artist
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Jeremy Dennis, Chokanipok Man of Flint, 2015, 24.1 x 36.1 inches. Photo courtesy the artist
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Jeremy Dennis, The Oath, 2015, 27.8 x 36.1 inches. Photo courtesy the artist
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Jeremy Dennis interacts with students during the 2018 residency program. Photo: Parrish Art Museum.
Contemporary fine art photographer Jeremy Dennis (b. 1990) is a member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, a federally recognized tribe in Southampton, on the East End of Long Island. In his work, Dennis explores indigenous identity, assimilation, and tradition from the lens of a millennial. He is a recent recipient of the Creative Bursary Award from Getty Images.
For Parrish Road Show, Dennis will present a selection of photographs entitled Stories: Dreams, Myths, and Experiences from the series Stories—Indigenous Oral Stories, Dreams and Myths, which he began in 2013. Inspired by North American indigenous stories, Dennis stages supernatural images that transform these myths and legends to depictions of an actual experience in a photograph. “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,” says Dennis.
The exhibition is being hosted by the Arts Center at Duck Creek, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that develops and operates programs in the John Little Barn and on the grounds of Duck Creek Farm for the benefit of the East Hampton community.
This location is particularly significant in that it reflects a complex and partially shrouded history of the East End. The former studio of abstract expressionist John Little, the Barn connects the exhibition to the artistic legacy of the East End; at the same time, it is located near important sites of the Shinnecock people, including the Springy Banks Powwow Grounds, the Soak Hides Dreen, and Freetown.
An opening reception was held on Saturday, August 11, 3–5 pm at The John Little Barn as well as an artist talk with Jeremy Dennis and Esly E. Escobar, Thursday, August 23, 5 pm, at the Parrish Art Museum.
About Jeremy Dennis
Jeremy Dennis 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).
He 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 Bursary Award from Getty Images in 2018 to continue his series Stories.
He has been an artist-in-residence at Eyes on Main Street Residency & Festival, Wilson, NC (2018); Watermill Center, Water Mill, NY (2017); and the Vermont Studio Center hosted by the Harpo Foundation (2016). Upcoming residencies include North Mountain Residency, Shanghai, WV (2018), MDOC Storytellers’ Institute, Saratoga Springs, NY (2018).
Dennis holds an MFA from Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, and a BA in Studio Art from Stony Brook University, NY. https://www.jeremynative.com/
Parrish Road Show 2018 is generously supported in part by Sandy and Stephen Perlbinder, and Jane Wesman and Donald Savelson. Public funding provided by Suffolk County.
