Colette Copeland

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Colette Copeland - Film

 
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1. Mydeath.com, 2007, digital video/animation, 90 seconds

 

Artist Statement
The video,” Mydeath.com” (a.k.a. how to plan a funeral in 90 seconds or less) humorously asserts the Internet as the ultimate commodified marketplace. Recontextualizing images downloaded from various ‘death’ websites, the work celebrates the bombardment of visual information questioning the point at which we reach saturation and how we decipher what information is accurate.

 
 
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2. Feathernest Inn Series, 2006, digital video, 11 minutes

 

Artist Statement
Filmed, Directed & Edited by Colette Copeland
Second Camera Operation, Creative Consultation & Technical Production by Anita Allyn
Starring Jordanovich Baumgartenberger as the Boxer, Ned B. Cash, PhD. as the Pirate, Dr. Jay Lipoff as the Barbarian Warrior
Music Composed, Performed and Recorded by Dr. Jay Lipoff

The three-part video explores male childhood fantasies. Revisiting childhood dreams of who they wanted to be when they 'grew-up', these adult males play dress up, acting out archetypal heroes constructed from popular movie characters. Filmed in themed kitschy hotel rooms, the characters perform elaborate rituals in solitude, as their gestures transpose from innocent to fetishized

 
 
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3. Gordon Sisters Redeux, 2007, digital video, 1.5 minutes

 

Artist Statement
Directed by Colette Copeland
Filed by John Woodin
Starring Anita Allyn & Colette Copeland

"Champion lady boxers of the world. Here we depict two female pugilists that are really clever. They are engaged in a hot and heavy one-round sparring exhibition, which is photographed against a very pleasing background, consisting of a park, with marble entrance and walk, and beautiful trees and shrubbery. The exhibition is very lively from start to finish; the blows fall thick and fast, and some very clever pugilistic generalship is exhibited." (Thomas Edison films catalog)

Inspired by the 1901 Thomas Edison film, Gordon Sisters' Boxing, the video pays homage to early photographic and cinematic studies of the human body in motion, while humorously recreating the spectacle of Victorian women engaged in 'unfeminine' athletic performance.

 
 
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4. Homage to Marey, 2007, digital video, 1.5 minutes

 

Artist Statement
Directed by Colette Copeland
Filed by John Woodin
Starring Anita Allyn & Colette Copeland

Inspired by early chronophotography—the scientific application of the study of movement and art photography, the video pays homage to Etienne Jules Marey while humorously recreating the spectacle of Victorian women engaged in 'unfeminine' athletic performance.

 
 
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5. Chickalaleeoh, 2006, digital video, 5 minutes

 

Artist Statement
Directed by Colette Copeland
Music composed by William Harper
Vocals by Rachel Slusarczyk

The video critically explores society's emphasis on marriage as the pinnacle of a girl's success.

 
 
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6. Media Murders: sight/cite/site, 2004,digital video, 8 minutes

 

Artist Statement
Media Murders explores sight/site/cite; how is history recorded/preserved and what is forgotten/erased. Researching murders in my bucolic small town, I revisited the sites (or approximate sites) of horrific crimes and created site interventions/memorials by chalking the body outline, taping off the area with yellow caution tape and leaving a marker designating the date, name of the victim and nature of the crime/death. The anonymity of the places—a grassy knoll, a concrete slab, speaks to the universality of murder. This becomes any/every small town in the U.S.. The video challenges the notion of what constitutes a memorial and how forgotten history recontextualizes a site.

 
 
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7. Worm Belly

 

Artist Statement
The video is based on a vivid story I was told in childhood, which has haunted me for years. Although it references a specific narrative, the work addresses larger cultural issues such as the manipulation of the media through advertising and fashion and its manifestation into society's values. This visceral memory has remained embedded in my conscious, as a testimony to the extremes one will endure for the sake of beauty.

 
 
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8. Crow's Tale

 

Artist Statement
The work explores the issue of memory on both a personal and collective level, as it relates to race, identity, and cultural heritage. Drawing from childhood memories, the video contemplates the legacy of prejudice, questioning the family and cultural inheritance and its impact on the individual. The manipulation of time, motion and space calls into question the veracity of memory and the construction of narrative.

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Colette Copeland - Installations

 
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Abortion Dialogues Series

 

Artist Statement
Abortion Dialogues

A day in history...January 22, 1973; the Supreme Court ruled that the constitutional right to privacy encompassed a woman’s decision to terminate a pregnancy. The landmark case Roe vs. Wade resulted in legal abortion for American women.

Twenty-three years after the Roe vs. Wade case, I began this project. The ruling has continued to cause controversy. In extreme cases, doctors have been murdered and clinics have been bombed. In the politicalization of the issue, I felt that no one was speaking about the women or allowing their stories to be told. Over the next two years, I interviewed and photographed women and their experiences with abortion. My goal was not to further a particular political viewpoint, but rather focus on the complexity of the issue. I wanted to challenge stereotypes surrounding abortion, as well as humanize the political nature of the subject. The project is not about PRO or CON, but real life experiences and the aftermath.

In collaborating first within my community and branching out into other communities nationwide, I found that through the sharing of stories, a commonality existed amongst the women, despite their religious or cultural beliefs. Since the subject of abortion is so taboo, many women have kept their stories secret. For some of the women, I was the first one to hear their story. Healing and growth occurred both within myself and the women collaborators. Change occurs when women are allowed to break the silence.

 
 
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Untitled Series

 

Artist Statement
The untitled installation addresses consumption as it relates to both personal narratives from my childhood and larger socio-economic issues of gender, class and enculturation. The installation is a child-sized living room constructed from thousands of hand-cast rubber vienna sausages. The wallpaper is digitally-printed images of vienna sausages. The endless repetition of the image and simulation of the 'fake' meat references mass media and pop culture. Through manipulation of surface, texture and (re)creation of space, the installation humorously questions the embedded notions of American consumerism.

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Colette Copeland - Photography

 
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Underwater Series

 

Artist Statement
Underwater

The photographs entitled Underwater are a series of 16" x 20" color coupler prints, which explore the figure underwater, both real and constructed. The first part of the series contains fragmented images of a child’s body. Hair metamorphizes into jellyfish, while a body materialized, shrouded in mist. The images evoke the feeling of inutero. Other photographs examine the figure in motion. The blurred imagery elicits the ethereal world of dreams, where memory intersects with desire. In the latter part of the series, distorted images of a person and mannequin maintain an eerie, yet ephemeral quality connoting death and violence. The distinction between what is real and artificial dissolves in a blur of bubbles. Rich blue and orange hues contradict the dark undertones of the photographs.

 
 
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Archetype Series

 

Artist Statement
Archetype

"Archetypes which hold whole worlds together and yet can never be pointed to, accounted for or even adequately circumscribed."
- James Hillman

The "Archetype" photographs are a series of 24" x 20" color photograms of resin-cast babies. The sculptural objects are embedded with disparate elements such as hair, cherries, chewing gum, and ground meat, giving each image its own unique "DNA". The images resemble x-rays of mutated specimens, resonating with the horror of genetic cloning gone awry. The work calls into question the roots of life and the effects of scientific experimentation such as bioengineering on the forces of nature. The grid-like installation contains a frontal and side view or "mug shot" of each image referencing the categorization and patterning of specimens. The lush prints elicit simultaneous feelings of attraction and repulsion as the familiar transmogrifies into the strange.

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About Colette Copeland

Contact Information
Media, PA
e-mail: coletteMedia@aol.com
www.colettecopeland.com
www.YouTube.com
Please contact artist for purchases, commissions, etc.

Education
1999-2001
Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
MFA, Art Media Studies

1997-1998
University of Miami, Miami, FL
Graduate Study in Photography

1984-1988
Pratt Institute, New York, NY
BFA, Merchandising, minor in Photography

Professional Experience
2002-present
Lecturer, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

2001-present
Senior Lecturer, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA

2000-2001
Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Photography instructor

1998
Daytona Beach Community College, Daytona Beach, FL
Instructor, installation art workshop

1997-1998
Fotocamp, Palm Beach Photographic, Delray Beach, FL
Photography instructor

1995
Image Masters, Randolph, NJ
Custom printer

1991-1994
Gallery Committee for the Putnam Arts Council, Mahopac, NY

1988-1989
Represented three New York City commercial and fine art photographers. Responsibilities included marketing, studio management, and production

Professional Affiliations
2002-present
College Art Association

2001-present
Society for Photographic Education
Regional Chair, 2004-05
Conference Chair for MidAtlantic Region, New Jersey, 2003
Co-chair for MidAtlantic Region Pittsburgh, PA 2002
Conference Chair for Northeast Region, Syracuse, NY, 2001

1999-2001
Community Darkrooms, Syracuse, NY
Board member

Honors
2006
Distinguished Teaching Award, Critical Writing Department, University of Pennsylvania

2005
Leeway Art & Change Grant Recipient

Special Prize for Artistic Excellence & Commitment to Teaching,
Arad Biennale, Arad, Romania

2001
Three Year Fellowship Award--Syracuse University

1998
Michele Edelson Award in Photography--University of Miami

1995
New Jersey Printmaking Council's Dimension Dementia
Best of Show

1992 - 1993
Finalist in Photographer's Forum Contest

1992
Who’s Who of American Women

Visiting Artist Lectures / Conferences
2005
Lecturer at Arad Biennale, Arad Romania

Panelist, "Becoming Uncomfortable", Brown University’s International Performance Conference, Providence, RI

2004
Moderator on panel addressing Adjunct Issues, SPE, Howard Community College, MD

2003
Guest Curator & Artist Fotofiesta International Festival, Medellin, Colombia

2002
SUNY Fredonia, Fredonia, NY

College of New Jersey, Ewing, NY

2001
SUNY Oswego Art Dept., Oswego, NY

2000
University of Toledo Art Department, Toledo, OH

Juror for WCNY Annual Art Exhibit & Auction

Spaces, Cleveland, OH

1999
Syracuse Artists’ Guild, Syracuse, NY

Center for Visual Arts, Oakland, CA

1997
Florida State University Art Dept., Tallahassee, FL

University of Florida Art Dept., Gainesville, FL

University of Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia

Barry University, Miami, FL

1995
Kingsley Center, Pittsburgh, PA

Publications
2007
Ars Latina—Being Latin in the 21st Century

Kratkofil International Short Video Festival Catalog

2006
Chobi Mela IV International Festival of Photography Catalog

2005-present
Exposure Journal, Oxford, OH
Freelance Writer

Afterimage, Rochester, NY
Freelance Writer

2005
Arad International Biennale of Contemporary Art Catalog

Abortion Dialogues catalog & cd, funded by Leeway Foundation
In conjunction with carbon14 gallery exhibition

2004-present
artblog, Philadelphia, PA
Regular contributor

2002
Evidencing, exhibition catalog, The College of New Jersey

2001-present
The Photo Review, Philadelphia, PA
Contributor

1999-Present
Fotophile magazine, New York, NY
Columnist

1998
Fresh Work, exhibition catalog, Southeast Museum of Photography

1997
Senales de Progreso, Museo Universario, Universidad de Antioquia

1996
Primary Subject, exhibition catalog, The Print Center, Philadelphia

Endangered, exhibition catalog, Oregon Book Biennial

Pulp Fictions, exhibition catalog, Texas Fine Arts Association

1995
Soho Biennial, exhibition catalog, New York

1993
Best Photography Annuals

World Who’s Who of Women

1992
Best Photography Annuals

World Who’s Who of Women

Bibliography
2007
“Examining the End at CPW”, Woodstock Times, Woodstock, NY, March 29, 2007

2005
“Don’t Terminate the Dream; Take It Forward”, Hindustan Times, Kolkata, India, December 1, 2005

“Aborting the Truth”, The Statesman, Kolkata, India, November 28, 2005

“In Life & Death”, The Indian Express, Kolkata, India, November 26, 2005

“Local Media Artist Wins Distinguished Art Prize in Romania”,
Town Talk Newpaper, Media, PA, August 3, 2005

“Media Photographer Exhibits Work on Abortion Experience”, Delaware County Daily Times, PA, April 9, 2005

2004
“Hera Gallery Showcases ‘Girl Art Now’, South County Independent, Providence, RI, June 10, 2004

"Local Media Artist Displays Work in Colombia” Town Talk, Media, PA

2003
“La fotografia aumenta su presencia en arte y vida diaria", El Tiempo, Medellin

“Comenzo fiesta de la fotografia”, El Tiempo, Medellin, Colombia

Too Much Skin?” mnartists.org, Minneapolis, MN

2002
“Their Bodies, Their Selves Animating Art”, Philadelphia Inquirer

2001
"Tough Girls", UR Chicago

"Show Kids You Love Them", Associated Press

"Vision From SU’s Graduating Artists", Stars Magazine--Syracuse Herald American

2000
"World’s Largest Geode--Pics Reflect Photographers’ Varying Styles", Toledo City Paper

"Artists Address Issues of Evolution with Photography",
University of Toledo News, 11/00

"Is Beauty Real or Bizarre?" Stars Magazine--Syracuse Herald American, 8/13/00

2000
The Photo Review
, Philadelphia, PA

"Let’s Get Physical", Syracuse New Times

"Group Pluck", Syracuse New Times

"Copeland’s on the Cutting Edge", Syracuse Herald American

1999
"Spark It Up", Syracuse New Times

1998
Fotophile Magazine, Long Island City, NY

1997
"Photographers Don’t Have Negative Things to Say About Their Profession", Associated Press

"Cultural Cafe", Broward County Forum, FL

"Copeland Finds Abstract Angles in Nature", Tallahassee Democrat, FL

"Creek Photographer Goes International", Broward County Forum, FL

"Compartiendo Saberes", El Colombiano, Medellin, Colombia

1996
Tear Sheet Magazine, Long Island City, NY

"Stark Galleries Display Paper, Pulp Fictions", Texas Eagle

1995
"Photo Exhibit Stares Down Gun Barrel", Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA

"A Free Frame of the Violent Threat to Children", New Jersey Star Ledger

1993
"Travelscapes to Venezuela & Portugal", Putnam Reporter Dispatch, NY

"Photographic Art", Putnam County Press, NY

1992
"First Place Winner", Putnam Reporter Dispatch, NY

Exhibitions

Solo/2-3 person exhibitions

2006
Abortion Dialogues
, Drik Photographic Gallery, Dhaka, Bangladesh

2005
Abortion Dialogues
, Indian Museum, Kolkata, India

Abortion Dialogues, Carbon14 Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2004
Untitled, InLiquid exhibition series at Community Gallery, Nexus Foundation for Today's Art, Philadelphia, PA

2003
Underwater Series, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh, PA

First Tuesday Film Festival, Western Illinois University Art Gallery, IL

Utopian World State: Fact or Fiction?, Loyola College Gallery, Baltimore, MD

Nature’s Fingerprint, Delaware Center for Contemporary Art,
Wilmington, DE

2002
Nature’s Fingerprint, Philadelphia Fringe Festival, TLA Video,
Philadelphia, PA

2001
Artist Invitational, Tyler Art Gallery, Oswego, NY

Abortion Stories, WomanMade Gallery, Chicago, IL

Abortion Stories, Acme Art Gallery, Columbus, OH

2000
Evolutions, Clement Gallery, University of Toledo, OH

Abortion Stories, Spaces, Cleveland, OH

Teras, Metaphorestry Gallery, Syracuse, NY

1999
Copeland/Thompson--Recent Work, Spark Gallery, Syracuse, NY

1998
Are We Killing Our Children?, Virginia Intermont Gallery,
Bristol, VA

1997
Texture Series, The Capitol, Tallahassee, Florida

Are We Killing Our Children?, University of Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia, traveling to Cali and Bucaramanga.

1996
3 in 3D, Printmaking Council of New Jersey, Somerville, NJ

1995
Are We Killing Our Children?, Kingsley Center, Pittsburgh, PA

1992
Travelscapes, Mahopac Library, Mahopac, NY

Copeland-Venezuela, Crystal Gallery, Mahopac, NY

Copeland Recent Photographs, Building & Design Center,
Yorktown Heights, NY

1987
Copeland--Photographs, Pratt Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

Group

2007
Fonlad #3, Coimbra, Portugal

Raw Tactics of the Subversive Body Video Screening, Pittsburgh, PA; Hallwalls, Buffalo, NY; Washington, DC
Traveling Exhibition

Ars Latina 2007, Mexicali, Baja, CA; Castellon, Spain
Traveling Exhibition

Kratkofil International Short Film Festival, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Look Out—Photography & the Worlds of Contemporary Art, SPE conference video screening, Miami, Fl

Ritual and Reputation, Richmond Center for Visual Arts, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI

2006
Snap to Grid, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA

Ars Latina 2006, Macerta, Italy

Sculpure at City Nord, Hamburg, Germany

Temporary Cities, National Center for Contemporary Arts, Moscow, Russia; Cultural Communication Center, Klalpeda, Lithuania
Traveling Exhibition

MIAD Venado Tuerto 2006, Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, Argentina

Do Not Fold, Bend, Spindle or Mutilate: Computer Punch Card Art, Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science, Sioux Falls, SD

Temporary Identities, Novosibirsk State Art Museum, Russia

2005
Heartfelt, FSU Museum of Fine Arts, Tallahassee, Florida

Sculpture Faculty Exhibit, Addams Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Arad Biennale, American Pavilion, Arad, Romania

Media Lounge, York Arts Gallery, York, PA

2004
Rendering Gender, Truman State Gallery, Kirkville, MO

Dialogue: art. technology. imagery, Montpelier Cultural Arts Center, Laurel, MD

Death Bizarre, Almanac Gallery, Hoboken, NJ

Media Arts Faculty Exhibit, Rosenwald Wolf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Girl Art Now, Hera Gallery, Wakefield, RI

2003
Re:Context, SPEMA Video Festival, Ewing, NJ

Body Politic, University of Eafit, Medellin, Colombia

InFiltration, part of InLiquid's Unfiltered Fringe, Minima, Philadelphia, PA

Viewpoints, Arthur Ross Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Multisensory: Visual Responses to Memory and Synesthesia, Hera Gallery, Wakefield, RI

Skin 2003, Icebox Gallery, Minneapolis, MN

Ties That Bind: Women and Collaboration, Smithtown Arts Council, St.James, NY

New Normal, Borowsky Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2002
New Media & Video
, Community College of Rhode Island, Lincoln, RI

In:View, part of InLiquid's Unfiltered Fringe, TLA Video, Philadelphia, PA

Evidencing: Drawing with Light and Pixels, College of New Jersey, Trenton, NJ

9/11, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh, PA

National Photography 2002, Soho Photo Gallery, New York, NY
Juror: Jennifer Blessings, Curator, Guggenheim Museum

New American Talent, Jones Center for Contemporary Art,
Austin, TX

Autobiographies, WomanMade Gallery, Chicago, IL

Photography 2002, Nexus Gallery, New York, NY

Disparate Views, Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY

2001
MFA Exhibit, Lowe Gallery, Syracuse, NY

Expose Yourself, CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, NY

2000
Serious Play, Adabomb Gallery, Milwaukee, WI

Everson Biennial, Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY

1999
Dinner with Dali, Clement Gallery, University of Toledo, OH

Member’s Exhibit, Houston Center for Photography,
Houston, TX
Juror: Sheryl Conkelton

Members’ Exhibit, Light Work Gallery, Syracuse, NY

Five Perspectives of the Global Child, Center for Visual Arts, Oakland, CA

Winter Exhibition, Gallery 210, Syracuse, NY

1998
Image & Text II, SFA Gallery, Nacogdoches, TX

Hand/Spirit/Invention, Harper Collins Gallery, New York, NY

Fresh Work 2, Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona Beach, FL

Imaging Florida, New Gallery, University of Miami traveling to Tampa, Tallahassee and Gainesville, FL

1997
Book Arts, Left Bank Gallery, Bennington , VT

Light and Image, CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, NY

Photowork '97, Barry University, Miami, FL
Curator: Vivian Donnell Rodriguez

Voices and Visions, Center for Emerging Art, Melbourne, FL
Curator: Ava Rado

1996
Juried Member's Show
, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh, PA

Pulp Fictions, Austin Museum of Art, Austin, TX
Juror: Elizabeth Smith

Three Rivers Art Festival, Pittsburgh, PA
Juror: Clarissa Sligh

Endangered,Oregon Book Arts Guild, Valley Art Association, Forest Grove, OR
Traveling to Seattle, WA for Bumbershoot Festival

100 Women, 100 Works, Center at High Falls, Rochester, NY.
Juror: JoAnn Moser

Art on Paper '96, MFA Gallery, Anapolis, MD

Women and Violence, Women's Studio Gallery, Rosendale, NY

Women in the Visual Arts, Erector Square Gallery, New Haven, CT
Juror: Ann Langdon

70th International Competition, Print Club, Philadelphia, PA
Traveled to Woodstock Center of Photography, Woodstock, NY
Juror: Colleen Kenyon

1995
CEPA Member's Show, CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, NY

Soho Biennial, 450 Broadway Gallery, New York, NY

Worth a Thousand Words, Benham Gallery, Seattle, WA
Juror: Duane Michals

Dimension Dementia, New Jersey Printmaking Council, Somerville, NJ
Juror: Suzanne Pilgrim

Self-Portraits,Trenton City Museum, Trenton, NJ

1996
Media Mania, New Jersey Printmakers Council
Traveling Exhibit, Princeton, Raritan, Somerset, Paramus, NJ

Color Now, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
Juror: Terrie Sultan

1994
PAC Members Show, Belle Levine Art Center, Mahopac, NY

1993
PAC Members Show, Belle Levine Art Center, Mahopac, NY

Very Small Works, Le Petit Musée, Housatonic, MA

30th Annual Fine Arts Show, Belle Levine Art Center,
Mahopac, NY

Up Close, Belle Levine Art Center, Mahopac, NY

1992
PAC Members Show, Belle Levine Art Center, Mahopac, NY

Resident Artists' Show, Belle Levine Art Center, Mahopac, NY

15th Annual Fine Arts Show, Ridgefield Artists' Guild,
Ridgefield, CT

Humor, Belle Levine Art Center, Mahopac, NY

Nature, Country Bank, Carmel, NY

1991
Resident Artists' Show, Belle Levine Art Center, Mahopac, NY

1987
Lincoln Center Family Art Show, Lincoln Center, New York, NY

Exhibitions Curated
2007
Death Bizarre, Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona Beach, FL
Expanded exhibition

2004
Death Bizarre, exhibition for Inliquid/Fotophile, Almanac Gallery,
Hoboken, NJ

2003
Video Festival, Society for Photographic Education’s Regional Conferences, Ewing, NJ

2002
Body Politic, Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, traveled to Medellin, Colombia for Fotofiesta in September 2003.

2001
Video Festival, Society for Photographic Education’s Regional Conferences, Syracuse, NY

2000
Body Politic, Gallery 210, Syracuse, NY

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Images copyright © Colette Copeland

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