Statement
I never knew that drug bags were drug bags.

I see them on the ground everywhere I go: nice neighborhoods, “bad” neighborhoods, big cities, and family-friendly parks in small towns. I always thought they were for craft supplies, hardware, buttons, etc. I didn’t question their purpose, I knew exactly what they were, until it hit me one day. I suppose my naiveté should be embarrassing, but I think it’s endearing.

My family has been haunted by drug abuse for more than half my life. In some ways my adolescence was robbed from me. Memories I thought didn’t exist suddenly came to me when I discovered the truth of these bags; I now recall a bag floating in my family’s pool, at the time I figured it was for nuts & bolts. Most of the items I put in these bags are things I have saved from childhood, I often tried to limit use of things special to me as a way to preserve them. Even as a kid I felt nostalgia for being a kid; maybe I somehow knew innocence wasn’t as easy to hang on to as I hoped.

The bags in this collection were predominately acquired from the streets in the city where I live, Providence, Rhode Island. There are a few from exciting places like NYC and Miami, and, unsurprising to me, from my small hometown of Townsend, Massachusetts. – LC

Bio
Creating artwork for me is deeply personal and perhaps selfish. It is therapy, a compulsion to create something as a way to express a feeling. Often and regrettably my work is never seen by others, but it has performed its purpose and I feel satisfied. I want it to be appealing to other people, of course, but I’m not always sure if it is. In this way I feel like a true artist: I process emotions and experiences through art. While my formal education is in photography, I enjoy using any medium that I feel best helps me reach a destination, including performance, which can be difficult for a person like me who considers herself shy. One of my personal artistic philosophies is to make creations that little kids would have fun looking at. I am attracted to bright colors, kitsch, and silliness, and I’m happy for my viewers to enjoy those things on a surface level, yet with a closer look there is more to be revealed. My work is typically variations on the themes of family and nostalgia, and may suggest sadness, though I like to think of it more as heavy-hearted. I often have the sense of missing someone or something, even in the presence of those things.

I received a BFA in Fine Art Photography from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2004. I currently reside in Providence, RI where I work a day job as a devoted animal caregiver. – LC

CV

Solo and Two Person Exhibitions
2020 Sequin Fix, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA (Upcoming)

2018 Time’s Winged Chariot AS220 Main Gallery, Providence RI

2018 Blowing Bubbles at Dogs Julian’s Gallery, Providence RI

2017 Sequin Fix Ugly Duck Gallery, Rochester NY

2017 Common Lint/Sequin Fix participatory project CVPA Gallery UMass Dartmouth, New Bedford MA

2016 Time’s Winged Chariot Meeting Hall Gallery, Townsend MA

2014 Chippers exhibition, publication, and performance Mmuseum, New York NY

2010 Heavy Heart The Hive Gallery, Providence RI

2008 Heavy Heart Lawrence Gallery, Pepperell MA

Group Exhibitions
2019 Juror’s Prize, members exhibition, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester MA

2018 Honorable Mention, Santa Fe Photographic Workshops Diversity contest, Santa Fe NM

2018 Griffin Museum of Photography juried members exhibition, Winchester MA

2018 Portraying Pets and People 311 Gallery, Raleigh NC

2017 Winter Solstice Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester MA

2017 Griffin Museum of Photography juried members exhibition, Winchester MA

2017 Inner Space & Outer Limits juried exhibition CVPA Gallery UMass Dartmouth, New Bedford MA

2016 Griffin Museum of Photography juried members exhibition, Winchester MA

2016 Earth Matters Meeting Hall Gallery, Townsend MA

View Lauren Ceike’s website.