DebiLynn Fendley

Lives and works in Arkadelphia, AR, USA

Artist statement

Artist Statement My work comes from the premise that I can — and do — use my art as a means of social and spiritual exploration. I work with cultural subgroups, and the process of forming bonds with them and of listening to their stories and ideas is as much a part of my art as the end product. I work predominately with male models and alternative female models, and as a visual storyteller, I push the boundaries between fantasy and reality while striving to make work that crosses margins between subgroups and mainstream norms. The work I produce — prints, paintings, drawings, and photographs — is a direct result of the way the interaction with my models change me as a person. I approach a blank page sometimes as a conceptual realist, sometimes as a pseudo-documentarian, but always in terms of a storyteller. Being a printmaker, I am fascinated with process and the physicality of art production…and that fascination with physicality lends itself well to my work in the field where I spend long hours as a photographer in dimly lit areas under circumstances few other photographers will dare face, working with populations many in the mainstream culture find frightening. I enjoy the challenge of working with people living on the margins and being able to reach out in an effort to understand their beliefs and value systems. It has proven sometimes to be dangerous but important work: embodying and symbolizing subcultures who are visually underrepresented in art in an effort to show...

Artwork