High School Photography '21-'22
Georgia Doherty
Class of 2023
Caroline Sciarratta
Class of 2023
Isabelle James
Class of 2023
Navya Garg
Class of 2022
Paul Fauller
Class of 2022
PhotoSynthesis XVI
(Click here to view BHS student photos at The Griffin Museum)
PhotoSynthesis XV is a collaboration of the Burlington High School and Winchester High School facilitated by the Griffin Museum of Photography.
By creating photographic portraits of themselves and their surroundings, students from Burlington High School and Winchester High School have been exploring their sense of self and place in a unique collaborative program at the Griffin Museum.
By creating photographic portraits of themselves and their surroundings, students from Burlington High School and Winchester High School have been exploring their sense of self and place in a unique collaborative program at the Griffin Museum.
Alex McGilvray
My portfolio Shaded Persona culminates my first two years as a photo student at Burlington High School. Throughout my time, I have learned many different techniques, and ways to control light. That being said, my portfolio explores the use of light and shadows to delve into the idea of disappearing into the background. Studio photography has been a passion of mine as well; which is what my main set up for my artwork was during this portfolio. Finally, my setup would be solidified by my subject, Myself! I feel when it comes to subject matter, it is important to know who or what your subject is. That’s the reason I chose myself, and even though I am still mysterious to myself, I want to explore that aspect of my personality.
While this portfolio culminates my experience of two years of photography, it also explores two years of my young adult life so far. Those two years were tough for me. Mentally and emotionally I was becoming drained, and tired. I wanted to just sink into the background whenever I got the chance. This year specifically was my toughest, and now I feel that it’s time that I present my story through my self portraits. As an added piece, the display format in front of you is in the shape of a body—yet another symbol of myself trying to find who I am. Photography is my salvation, and I hope to show my intention through my work.
While this portfolio culminates my experience of two years of photography, it also explores two years of my young adult life so far. Those two years were tough for me. Mentally and emotionally I was becoming drained, and tired. I wanted to just sink into the background whenever I got the chance. This year specifically was my toughest, and now I feel that it’s time that I present my story through my self portraits. As an added piece, the display format in front of you is in the shape of a body—yet another symbol of myself trying to find who I am. Photography is my salvation, and I hope to show my intention through my work.
Alyssa LoCicero
The title of my work is The Seven Deadly Sins. The message of my photography is how the seven deadly sins can be portrayed in many different ways. I wanted to illustrate the seven deadly sins in a more modern way through my photos. My photographs are bright, vibrant colored portraits that represent each of the seven deadly sins. I used a lot of symbolic imagerys and intense colors in my photos. Each color represents a different sin and I really wanted to show that in my photography. For example lust is associated with pink, while greed is yellow and pride is purple. Not only did I use colors to represent each sin, but I also used objects; Cake represents gluttony and a crown represents pride. I wanted to use them as a way to show how I, personally, see the sins and what I associate with them. The mirror helps show envy because people focus a lot on their flaws when they envy someone else. The clocks help show how with sloth you don’t desire to do anything. Some emotions I am showing in my artwork are anger, fatigue, lust, envy, hunger and pride. I hope viewers can connect with the way I portray each sin and understand why I portray them that way.
Caileigh Connolly
My artwork was inspired by a television show called Euphoria, much of which was shot on film. These pictures are self portraits. They use a lot of color and glitter in the show to portray emotions and feelings of the characters. In the show every character has a specific color theme that goes along with the way they act. Staying with that theme, I used color gels to create the colors in myimages. . To create the same glitter look from the showI mixed it glitter with water and dripped it down my face. I edited the images on photoshop and used the grain filter to get the grainy film effect. My goal for this portfolio was to show emotion through colors and lighting.
Caroline Sciarratta
“P-13” is a portfolio comprised of images all individually connecting back to how society comments on eating disorders, drug abuse, suicide, and a collection of themes glorified by our generation. This portfolio, like we as members of society, wears rose colored lenses, literally. I wanted this portfolio to have a haze of primary colors across it, to represent the way we expose praised versions of these issues to the youth. Overall, the initial response I want from people who view this portfolio is “confusion and discomfort.” I want this reaction from others, because it is one that people SHOULD feel, but often don’t due to Hollywood actors and stage lighting. My passion for this project stems from my own personal feelings on how these topics are represented in media, often as “normal” and even sometimes romanticized. I chose my titles with specific intention to connect every image to one another, as well as back to the premise of the portfolio as a whole
Georgia Doherty
Reminiscence
I developed my portfolio to convey the mournful feeling of reflecting childhood. My portfolio consists of different scenes from my childhood that I have placed myself back into. As I look back now, I was so excited to become older that it feels as if I rushed past all the important parts of aging– whether it was the good aspects or unwanted aspects. I forced myself to face the uncomfortable moments that I belittled when I grew up, such as death, grief, and change. Although these conversations are not always easy to discuss, I depict this subject as rather peaceful as I come to accept difficult parts of childhood.
An important process of creating my portfolio was setting a majority of my images in my grandmother’s house. Most of my childhood memories are based in or near her house so it felt authentic to recreate my portfolio in this setting. In order to match the aesthetic of “going back in time”, it felt authentic to shoot my entire portfolio on 35mm film. The film created a grainy, calm mood to develop this melancholic expression that often comes when reflecting on the past. The title of my portfolio is Reminiscence because I want to present important memories from my childhood in the way I see them now as I have matured and can now grasp a better understanding of these serious topics. I explore trips to the graveyard that my family often took, my unsteady relationship with religion, and leaving childhood traditions such as Sunday dinners at my grandmother’s house. I hope that other people will recognize these uncomfortable topics in a calm perspective because experiences of growing up are difficult, but common and normal.
I developed my portfolio to convey the mournful feeling of reflecting childhood. My portfolio consists of different scenes from my childhood that I have placed myself back into. As I look back now, I was so excited to become older that it feels as if I rushed past all the important parts of aging– whether it was the good aspects or unwanted aspects. I forced myself to face the uncomfortable moments that I belittled when I grew up, such as death, grief, and change. Although these conversations are not always easy to discuss, I depict this subject as rather peaceful as I come to accept difficult parts of childhood.
An important process of creating my portfolio was setting a majority of my images in my grandmother’s house. Most of my childhood memories are based in or near her house so it felt authentic to recreate my portfolio in this setting. In order to match the aesthetic of “going back in time”, it felt authentic to shoot my entire portfolio on 35mm film. The film created a grainy, calm mood to develop this melancholic expression that often comes when reflecting on the past. The title of my portfolio is Reminiscence because I want to present important memories from my childhood in the way I see them now as I have matured and can now grasp a better understanding of these serious topics. I explore trips to the graveyard that my family often took, my unsteady relationship with religion, and leaving childhood traditions such as Sunday dinners at my grandmother’s house. I hope that other people will recognize these uncomfortable topics in a calm perspective because experiences of growing up are difficult, but common and normal.
Isabelle James
A Day in the Life of a Dancer
My portfolio explores the life of a dancer, and includes a greater message about the aspects that are not always seen by audiences. This has a personal connection to me because I have been dancing for the past fifteen years, so dance has always been a very meaningful part of my life. From dancing for this long, I have seen that a lot of people are not always aware of what it takes to be a dancer—everything from dealing with injuries, to a dancer leaping, is shown in my artwork. The subject matter of my artwork explores the idea that a lot more goes into being a dancer than most people think. Commitment, dedication, sacrifice, hard work, and trust are all key components to being a dancer, which are often overlooked by people who have never danced. Therefore, the title of my portfolio is A Day in the Life of a Dancer. In order to portray the meaning of my portfolio, I also incorporated symbolism in my work. In the image titled, 5 6 7 8, the blurred feet show not only the fast movement of the dancers at this given moment, but also represent the fast paced movement of a dancer's life, and how sometimes it can be a bit of a blur. The circle of dancers symbolizes the unity and sense of family that comes with being a dancer, hence the title, Community. Seeing the people that I dance with almost every single day creates incredible bonds. Dance requires strong connections to the community and trust in each other in order to perform the way that we do. These symbols tell the audience that a lot more goes into being a dancer than most people give us credit for. I also hope that other dancers are able to connect to the meaning of these pieces and feel that they are represented to the best of my ability. Lastly in my artwork, I tried to show the joy of dancing, while still including some of the less joyous aspects of dance. I wanted to show the pain and hard work but also the happiness and beauty that comes with dancing. My main goal for this portfolio was to create a way for people to understand what the life of a dancer is like, and what goes into all of the stunning performances that dancers are known for.
My portfolio explores the life of a dancer, and includes a greater message about the aspects that are not always seen by audiences. This has a personal connection to me because I have been dancing for the past fifteen years, so dance has always been a very meaningful part of my life. From dancing for this long, I have seen that a lot of people are not always aware of what it takes to be a dancer—everything from dealing with injuries, to a dancer leaping, is shown in my artwork. The subject matter of my artwork explores the idea that a lot more goes into being a dancer than most people think. Commitment, dedication, sacrifice, hard work, and trust are all key components to being a dancer, which are often overlooked by people who have never danced. Therefore, the title of my portfolio is A Day in the Life of a Dancer. In order to portray the meaning of my portfolio, I also incorporated symbolism in my work. In the image titled, 5 6 7 8, the blurred feet show not only the fast movement of the dancers at this given moment, but also represent the fast paced movement of a dancer's life, and how sometimes it can be a bit of a blur. The circle of dancers symbolizes the unity and sense of family that comes with being a dancer, hence the title, Community. Seeing the people that I dance with almost every single day creates incredible bonds. Dance requires strong connections to the community and trust in each other in order to perform the way that we do. These symbols tell the audience that a lot more goes into being a dancer than most people give us credit for. I also hope that other dancers are able to connect to the meaning of these pieces and feel that they are represented to the best of my ability. Lastly in my artwork, I tried to show the joy of dancing, while still including some of the less joyous aspects of dance. I wanted to show the pain and hard work but also the happiness and beauty that comes with dancing. My main goal for this portfolio was to create a way for people to understand what the life of a dancer is like, and what goes into all of the stunning performances that dancers are known for.
Lindsay Bullock
My portfolio is titled Pass The Aux. It is a collection of work that recreates album covers that are particularly important to me. Music was a major outlet for me during the pandemic and my shoulder surgery in September 2021 and I wanted a way to visualize that outlet. These songs have personal connection to me—either from seeing them live in concert or waiting all night to hear it when it was released. For this project I got my friends to model in place of the actual artist or I used myself in the form of a self portrait. From this collection I want people to realize that they can make a personal connection to other peoples art and find a way to make it their own.
Lindsay Lavoie
Perfectionism In Art
The message behind my artwork is that perfectionism in photography is shown in many ways. I show my perfectionism by focusing on straight lines and making sure everything is in the correct order in my photos. My artwork is emulating the style of Robert Adams,a landscape film photographer. In every photo he took it was so perfect it was almost creepy. I tried to do that with my artwork. The subject matter of my artwork is Perfectionism in Art. It shows how much detail people put into their work. In the editing of my own portfolioI did the most basic edits. I did not move anything in my photos. I barely played with the colors. I used the clouds as something that shows up in most of my photos. Clouds remind me of when I was little and looking out the window commenting on the shapes and stories being made by the clouds.It is a cool way to capture little things that most people do not notice.
Throughout my portfolio I focused on the emotions, curiosity and creepiness. When creating my images I make sure all of my lines are straight, and play with deep tones and contrast. I want the people who look at my work to feel uneasy. The way it is photographed it should make you uncomfortable on how perfect it is.
The message behind my artwork is that perfectionism in photography is shown in many ways. I show my perfectionism by focusing on straight lines and making sure everything is in the correct order in my photos. My artwork is emulating the style of Robert Adams,a landscape film photographer. In every photo he took it was so perfect it was almost creepy. I tried to do that with my artwork. The subject matter of my artwork is Perfectionism in Art. It shows how much detail people put into their work. In the editing of my own portfolioI did the most basic edits. I did not move anything in my photos. I barely played with the colors. I used the clouds as something that shows up in most of my photos. Clouds remind me of when I was little and looking out the window commenting on the shapes and stories being made by the clouds.It is a cool way to capture little things that most people do not notice.
Throughout my portfolio I focused on the emotions, curiosity and creepiness. When creating my images I make sure all of my lines are straight, and play with deep tones and contrast. I want the people who look at my work to feel uneasy. The way it is photographed it should make you uncomfortable on how perfect it is.
Mary Kate Hayes
My work for this portfolio titled “Bedroom Identities” consists of photos inspired by James Mollison’s “Where Children Sleep” portfolio as well as the birds eye portfolio work in John Thrackway’s “My Room Photos Project”. Although my work is inspired by these two portfolios, I was able to add my own style and strengths into it which shows in the still life pictures that surround the subject. I used these still life images to show the interest, style, and to represent the ages of the subjects. This portfolio of work is made to show how each and every person has a different style in their room and it helps to portray their personalities. I photograph people of all ages and genders in my work and you can see their different and similar interests represented by the objects I use. I want people of all ages and that have all different interests to see my photographs and connect with the subjects in the photos.
Navya Garg
I have never been one big on creativity at the expense of technique, in fact I have always been extremely envious of any artist who has been able to put aside their perfectionist tendencies and approach art with a message and some fun. Ever since I first picked up a DSLR in eighth grade I have worked hard to master precision and technique whether that’s the perfect lighting and expressions in portraits to the smallest odd and out of place looking thing had to be deliberately set. Then in Creative Photography last year I was given an altered imagery project where I had to physically alter images, and that one project changed the way I looked at art completely. All of a sudden I was spending less time worrying about how perfect my pictures looked and more time cutting apart magazines, learning how to embroider onto pictures and ripping my hours of perfectionism apart only to put apart it’s torn up pictures with glue. I fell in love with alternate imagery.
Later that year, I was asked to do a Kehinde Wiley inspired project, his beautiful and intricate paintings are what came to inspire this portfolio today. The more I read about his story and the reason behind his paintings, the more obsessed I became with relating that to my own culture. This portfolio combines my love for altered imagery with an exploration of my culture. Kehinde Wiley’s work featured African Americans in Renaissance art style power poses with intricately hand painted backgrounds. Although I do not have nearly his precision line work or patience to hand paint everything in my portfolio, as an ode to Altered imagery and to Kehinde Wiley’s dedication, I have hand drawn my backgrounds.
Later that year, I was asked to do a Kehinde Wiley inspired project, his beautiful and intricate paintings are what came to inspire this portfolio today. The more I read about his story and the reason behind his paintings, the more obsessed I became with relating that to my own culture. This portfolio combines my love for altered imagery with an exploration of my culture. Kehinde Wiley’s work featured African Americans in Renaissance art style power poses with intricately hand painted backgrounds. Although I do not have nearly his precision line work or patience to hand paint everything in my portfolio, as an ode to Altered imagery and to Kehinde Wiley’s dedication, I have hand drawn my backgrounds.
Paul Fauller
In my generation I feel that gender is something that is fluid, and not as rigid as the concept presented to my other family members who grew up during monumental movements in the United States. I explore the concept of gender in regards to suburbia alongside the nuclear family- both of which were constructs reinforced in the mid-20th century. Through utilizing a 60’s Americana aesthetic, I mirror the conclusion of The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman which was written during the cult of domesticity- where women were institutionalized for not fulfilling gender expectations. Does questioning these institutions of gender result in insanity? Do we all need to conform?
Samantha Goneau
My portfolio is focusing on movement and activity. It is titled Beauty in Adventure. My goal was to capture people in either action shots or candids of adventurous activities. I've always been an adventurous person and have loved the outdoors and any sport that goes along with it. I decided to capture friends of mine doing outdoor activities, as that is what I grew up doing, while also highlighting the movement and happiness in the photos. My whole memory of my childhood has been filled with adventure and outdoor activities. I wouldn’t be who I am today if I hadn’t grown up in that environment. My portfolio is focused on candids and movement. I hope that when looking at my photos, people will see the importance of the moment of time that I was attempting to capture. I hope that people will see the idea of memories and adventure that goes along with my portfolio, while also maybe thinking about personal memories of their own. Activity has always been a main part of my personality and I am beyond happy that I have the opportunity to represent that in my portfolio.