When my reclusive, enigmatic neighbor of many years disappeared and died in her house, there were no friends or family to claim anything that remained: her body, her possessions, or even her memory. It seemed she was simply going to disappear.
Who had she been? What had happened to her? Convinced the answers lay inside her silent, vacant house, my curiosity grew into obsession.
“The House Next Door” documents the days and weeks and months that followed, as I gained entry and returned to the house again and again. Initially driven by emotional voyeurism – a subject/object investigation of a life outside of my own – this delineation began to blur over time. Were we really so different? Was I merely seeking to understand her, or also to escape into the house, as well?
Elizabeth Bailey is a Los Angeles based artist who uses photography to create evocative imagery that explores the themes of self, identity, memory, and longing. She uses staged scenes, portraiture, and self-portraiture with implied narratives to consider what we conceal and reveal about ourselves, to others.
Born and raised in Minnesota, Bailey moved to Los Angeles at 18 to attend Occidental College. After receiving a BA in Philosophy, she studied photography and graphic design, finding that each informed the other. She currently works as a graphic designer and fine art photographer.
Her work has been exhibited in galleries nationally and internationally, including Light Box Gallery in Portland, Oregon; A Smith Gallery in Johnson City, Texas; and PH21 in Budapest, Hungary. Her photographs have been published in books and magazines including Float, Stubborn, and SHOTS Magazine, and are held in private collections.
Website: elizabethbaileyphoto.com
IG: @elizabeth_bailey01
