© Brittany Severance

We’re delighted to introduce you to Brittany Severance, who has received the Curators Choice Award in our exhibition collaboration with Float Magazine, HOW I SEE YOU.

‘The gentleness of Brittany’s images stood out to me, like soft hazy memories. It feels like we’ve just missed whoever was there, there are clues of their existence, but they might not be coming back.’

Selected by Shutter Hub Creative Director, Karen Harvey, the exhibition showcases the work of 23 photographers bringing together touching and beautiful representations of people through objects, spaces and abstraction, sometimes joyful, sometimes sad, and everything in between.

As photographers we are always looking and seeing things differently. Whether it’s people that we see the beauty in (and they don’t see it themselves) or it’s something we see that reminds us of someone – it could be a place, a flower, a cup left on a table – a memory or sense of place and being. A photograph can be a memorial or tribute to someone lost, or a sign of appreciation for someone who is alive and loved.

© Brittany Severance

‘It means so much to me to receive the Curator’s Choice Award. When I received the news, I was overwhelmed with emotion. The selected photographs represent different visits to my childhood home over the past year during a time when direct contact with others was both a risk and a luxury. Partially driven by love and by fear caused by the global pandemic, I prioritized photographing my loved ones in their space.

Due to a visual impairment, my mobility is limited. I rely on my partner or others for trips outside the neighborhood where I live, an hour and a half away from the home where I grew up. Because of this, I value the opportunities when I can return home and see my parents and sister who still lives with them, along with their ten-year-old cat. The house serves as a space of freedom and inspiration that I can escape to when I feel stressed out. When I visit them, I often stay with them for a week or two at a time. These extended stays allow me to notice the little details that make my family’s routines and mannerisms unique yet endearing, and I use my camera to document these scenes. Some habits are new, while others are comfortable and familiar. These are the images that represent their character.’

– Brittany Severance, Curators Choice Award Winner.

See more of Brittany’s work in her Shutter Hub portfolio, here.

© Brittany Severance

© Brittany Severance