Eileen Quinlan

Eileen Quinlan is interested in the false transparency of the photographic image. For her, it’s not a window, but a mirror. To force an engagement with the surface of this illusion, she employs crude alienation effects. The process of building pictures with a limited set of materials is illustrated, serving to further highlight the photograph’s constructed nature…

I’m interested in the false transparency of the photographic image. It’s not a window, but a mirror. To force an engagement with the surface of this illusion, to resist its easy narrativization, I employ crude alienation effects. Color, atmosphere, time, composition, description are reduced to their most basic forms. The process of building images with a limited set of materials is illustrated, serving to further highlight the photograph’s constructed nature…’

Smoke & Mirrors

Quinlan’s beguiling images invite us to appreciate the mechanics and psychology inherent in the construction of pictures,” says Jen Mergel, Associate Curator at the ICA/Boston. “Her works recall the pure abstraction of Modernist painting, but are actually direct representations of the items used to create backdrops in commercial photography. Evoking the sleek environment of an ad campaign, her imagery is seductive yet product-free, prompting imaginative projections instead of quick recognition. The sheer beauty of Quinlan’s work encourages us to reconsider assumed limits and potential for the photographic image…

Smoke & Mirrors #111