Jenny Calivas: Reimagining Photography Through Embodied Art

Jenny Calivas, a photographer with a strong foundation in darkroom techniques and documentary studies, began questioning her chosen medium during her time at Yale's graduate program. Driven by a desire for more hands-on creation, she started integrating sculpture and performance into her artistic practice, seeking new ways to make photography a more tangible experience, such as photographing her clay-covered hands.

Following her MFA in 2018, Calivas returned to Maine and embarked on her impactful "Self-Portraits While Buried" series, created between 2019 and 2021. In these striking black-and-white images, she is almost completely submerged in the sand and tidal mud of familiar coastal landscapes, with only her hand, holding a camera's shutter release, often visible. This work was deeply influenced by ecofeminist art and politics, aiming to challenge conventional portrayals of female bodies in nature by emphasizing a more intertwined and physical connection to the environment. Her process in these self-portraits prioritized sensory input over visual, using cues like the changing temperature of sand to determine exposure, thereby transforming the photographic act into a deeply embodied experience.

Continuing her exploration of photography's physical boundaries from her Los Angeles studio, Calivas draws upon a diverse background in performance arts, including puppetry, dance, and music. Her recent mail-art project, a collaboration with graphic designer Matt Wolff, further exemplifies her commitment to tactile and sensory engagement. Inspired by her daughter's hands-on approach to eating, this project invites participants to explore the sounds and textures of food, smearing it onto written observations before mailing the postcards. Calivas describes this ongoing quest as a search for "squishier options," indicating a preference for raw, sensory experiences in her art.

Jenny Calivas's artistic journey showcases a powerful dedication to innovation, pushing the boundaries of traditional photography by embracing tactile engagement, performance, and a deep connection to nature. Her work challenges viewers to reconsider the essence of artistic creation, promoting a more embodied and sensory appreciation of the world around us.