Bio

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Detroit-based artist Judi Bommarito creates layered photographic narratives that blur boundaries between imagery and experience. A College for Creative Studies graduate and instructor since 1999, she works between translucent and opaque elements to explore memory and healing. Her series "The SPACE Between The Cracks" earned the 2012 Grand Prize selected by Mary Ellen Mark. Recently featured in a solo exhibition at the University of Cincinnati, her work "Reclaiming Your Outside Voice," a Photolucida Critical Mass Finalist 2024, examines mental illness through metaphorical imagery and text.


ARTIST STATEMENT


My photographic practice explores the intricate landscape of familial relationships through the lens of mental health and healing. At the heart of my work lies an intimate exploration of the mother-daughter relationship, where personal narrative interweaves with universal themes of understanding, forgiveness, and transformation. Through carefully constructed visual metaphors and evocative imagery, I create spaces where vulnerability becomes a source of strength and darkness transforms into illumination.

This journey began upon discovering handwritten notes left by my mother—fragments that became both metaphor and the voice she never had. These found texts serve as threading elements throughout the series, creating a dialogue between past and present, between silence and expression. By incorporating these authentic artifacts alongside photographic collage, I craft multi-layered narratives that speak to both personal experience and collective understanding.

In my creative process, I deliberately blur the boundaries between documentary and fine art photography. The recurring motifs of natural elements—leaves, feathers, and moths—interweave with textures of architectural decay to create layered narratives. These weathered surfaces and structural imperfections serve as metaphorical self-portraits, each crack and worn facade reflecting the quiet dignity of aging and transformation. The minimalist approach to these textural elements speaks to both personal history and universal experiences of change, while serving as visual metaphors for the complexity of mental health journeys.

My work challenges preconceptions about mental illness while offering a path toward empathy and connection. Through this visual exploration, I invite viewers to reflect on their own experiences with family relationships, healing, and the transformative power of understanding. By juxtaposing traditional photographic techniques with contemporary digital collage, I create images that build upon psychological depth while maintaining aesthetic cohesion. Ultimately, my goal is to contribute to a broader dialogue about mental health, resilience, and our universal longing for love and acceptance, while giving voice to those whose stories often go unspoken.