Interview with Tierney Gearon
November 2010
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Having started out as a model and then a commercial photographer, what inspired you to start photographing yourself and your family?
My photography has helped me work through many issues good and bad in life. Growing up with a mentally ill parent resulted in a lot of unresolved issues. My marriage grounded me, but when it fell a part I started questioning my life and launched on this incredible project documenting my family. I started photographing every person who was related to me on my mother and father’s side. Through this search I started to unravel where my mother’s mental illness came from and where my father came from and how they were realized. My work helped to answer so many questions I didn't know were inside me.
Originally the project started reliving some of my questions, but as I continued to document the children's time and my time with my mother I realized I was taking many repeat images and dealing with all the issues I had as a child growing up: Feeling alone, no sexual boundaries, but also, the good, the humor, and of course, the playfulness.
Photography was something that I fell into by accident and discovered quickly. It’s a medium that I can turn into a way of working with commercially and at the same time it fulfills other needs as well.
In 2001, there was a lot of controversy with the images of your children in the series I am a Camera. How did you deal with the pressure and accusations? Do you feel that this experience may have shaped you as an artist, and/or the way you photograph family now?
As a mother, to be accused as a child pornographer is heart rendering! My images are of my children and immediate family- they encompass purity and innocence and I am very proud of them. I believe darkness is in the eye of the beholder.
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How did your series The Mother Project evolve into a documentary? What was it like to view your own photographic process on film?
My agent at the time called Trish, thought it would be a good idea to have someone filming me because so much was going on. When I saw the film and my process it helped me step back and realize some ways that I could improve as a mother.
Has your mother seen the documentary? If so, what does she think of it?
No, my mother has not seen the film- her attention span would not allow for it. She has seen the photos and she likes them.
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When you are photographing family members and yourself, do you find the work to be a therapeutic experience for you?
My work is a diary of my soul!
Your most recent project, Explosure, seems to take your family portraiture to a new dimension with double exposure. Why did you choose this particular method for this series? Does the element of chance play a role in these images?
My Explosure series came about when Simone de Pury offered me a gallery show. At the time I was working on nude self-portraits and I thought it would be interesting to add the extra layer. The ‘Explosure’ series was my first body of work created entirely for a show. Chance is always involved with my double exposure images and usually provides nice surprises.
Do these images represent dreams or reality for you, or both?
Both: Dreams and reality meet and become a solid image.