Sewn/Mix Media Photos

My sewn body of work was created using large black and white silver prints produced from pinhole cameras. The images are captured on film by using either a 4x5 Leonardo pinhole camera or a pinhole camera made from a Tide detergent box. Both these cameras are modified to allow the attachment of a Polaroid 645 film back. Since the camera lacks a viewfinder, I rely on Polaroid Positive Negative 55 film to produce a positive 'reference' image--this particular Polaroid film also provides a black and white negative at the same time.

After the silver print is made, I build upon each print by using various art mediums such as painting, drawing, and image transfers. Often, multiple photographs are juxtaposed together to evoke narratives connecting one image to another, not unlike chapters in a book. I feel most comfortable photographing possessions associated with my home, family and everyday life. Occasionally, I incorporate hand or machine-sewn verses or writing into select areas of the print to act as dialog. The writings, both from personal journals and verses from popular 20th century poets, push the narrative capabilities of the image. All of my finished pieces are distinctive works on paper that move beyond the boundaries of a traditional photograph.

Rebecca Sexton Larson is a Tampa based studio artist working with alternative photographic processes. She graduated from the University of South Florida with a degree in Fine Arts and Mass Communications. She was awarded Florida Individual Artist Fellowships in 1998, 2002, and 2008. In 2006, she received an Artist Enhancement Grant from the State of Florida and, in 2005, was commissioned by the City of Tampa to be its Photographer Laureate for a year. During the past 15 years, Sexton Larson has taught, lectured and exhibited work nationally at various arts institutions and organizations.

Sexton Larson's photographs are in numerous major collections throughout the country, including: Polaroid, Progressive Corporate Art, Graham Nash (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young), Holland and Knight Law Firm, Polk Museum of Art, and the Tampa Museum of Art.

http://sextonlarson.com, http://boxfotos.com