An Interview with Photographer, Nikki Fenton

I recently had the opportunity to interview Nikki Fenton, a photographer who attends Mason Gross School of Arts at Rutgers University. She minors in Psychology which recently has helped her discover a new direction for her photography. As a photographer, finding your own style and subject matter can be difficult. Her last few years at Mason Gross has helped her try new methods and learn more to better inform her own work. She really has an artistic eye, which is evident in her framing, lighting, and subject matter.

Shub Schirmer: Nikki, what have you chosen to concentrate in?

Nikki Fenton: I am a photography concentration , with an extremely strong interest in the study of the human mind. I minor in psychology and plan on going to graduate school for art therapy.

S: How would you describe your older work and how did it transform into the work you're doing now?

N: In the past I have always tried to capture multiple textures and landscapes of abandonment. Unclear of the point I was trying to get across, I finally realized there was a strong connection between the psychological standpoint of things. Coming to this conclusion I drifted away from photographing the decay and still standing matter and began to explore the world of people.

S: So, tell me about what you've been working on more recently.

N: My most recent series of works consist of the documentation of multiple psychological disorders that hit close to home within my personal life. These photographs represent individuals in my family or friends as well as their homes and personal belongings. They are taken to show (indirectly at times) their personal struggles with their illnesses along with various coping strategies and habits to get them through their daily routines.

S: It seems that your interest in psychology has left a profound mark on your work. What specifically would you say has changed from this?

N: Being a psychology minor, my art has shifted from photographing groups of people and objects to this more concentrated prospect.

S: Could you explain these newer series and what you were trying to achieve with them?


Dawn Series (January 2010)

N: This series represents a struggle with breast cancer and ways the subject overcomes the illness. Many people use multiple coping mechanisms while they are sick. Dawn uses her time to focus on the objects she has in her home through obsessive compulsive collecting. The portraits shot of her are in black and white except for the larger image that emphasizes the beauty in her glass collection. It is ironic that a disorder society looks down upon can morph into a subject for healing when paired up with cancer. This series represents the power to overcome an almost impossible to ignore disease, which is saved by a common disorder many people would consider harmful.


Dad Series (October 2009- February 2010)

This series documents my father’s life coinciding with prescription medication. After becoming ill in 2004 and losing his job his body runs off of these multiple medications to properly function both mentally and physically. With the passing of time these pills have become a crutch in his life. At most these photographs are a series of portraits of my father through his medications.

Mercer St. Series (March 2010)

This series portrays a haunting space that has been a burden to the individuals who own it and live in it. Not only can a person have a series of mental illnesses but a home can encase the struggle. By presenting the public with these images I hope those who view them feel a sense of containment and need for escape. Shot in an uncomfortable space, these photos provide an insight into the space and the various emotions and moods which have lived inside of it over a course of time.

S: Where do you get your influences from?

N: My inspiration comes from the work of Nan Golden, Mary Ellen Mark, and Diane Arbus.

S: Where do you see your thesis going? Do you want to continue exploring the psychological nature of people?

N: For my senior thesis I am considering visiting a mental hospital and documenting the individuals who are residing there for his or her own disorders. The work will focus on the interest in my subjects healing and coping strategies as well as their treatments. By recognizing that every patient is a person with a life can bring an understanding to the outside world and art in itself as a way of healing. I am also considering incorporating some ink blot drawings with the photographs.