Ameliorate

May 2017

Jenna Sterner, Department of Contemporary Art and Theater, Shepherd University

A work-in-progress for several months now, Ameliorate is the ongoing photographic narrative of the reconstruction of historic Ellicott City, Maryland, after the July 2016 flood. This body of work began as a documentation of the damage caused by the natural disaster, and quickly morphed into a story of resilience and hope. Ameliorate is defined as “to mend, to make something [bad] better,” and that is what this series is all about. Utilizing natural light, bold colors, and complex compositions, each photo tells its own story of the progress in Ellicott City. I often work with what the environment gives me at the time, studying the atmosphere and subjects in order to capture the elements perfectly at the right time. This is one of my first long-term photo narratives, and I will continue it through to the year anniversary of the flood this July. It is important to me as a photographer to show people something new, to educate them on something they may have known little about, and to get them engaged and asking questions. I hope to pursue photojournalism and create more narratives in the future.

Artist’s Biography

     Jenna M. Sterner is an emerging visual artist from Baltimore, Maryland. Her eight years of training in the arts have helped her realize her passion lies in the world of photojournalism. With an eye sensitive to light and composition, her photographs tell stories, relay information, and engage the audience. Most recently, she had work in the National Juried Photography Exhibition at the Delaplaine Arts Center in Frederick, MD. She also had a photograph selected into the Sans Merci literary and art publication at Shepherd University. Sterner will be graduating this May from Shepherd with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography.