Sheri Lynn Behr is an exhibiting artist in PCNW’s 23rd annual juried exhibition, curated by Kris Graves.

Tell us about yourself, where you’re from, and when you first discovered your love of photography.

I’m from the Bronx, NY, and currently living in New York City again after several years away. I started taking pictures when I was pretty young, and I never stopped. I photographed rock and roll concerts, worked with Polaroid film, and started doing computer-enhanced photography really early. My work still shifts back and forth between highly manipulated images and recognizable documentary-style photographs like this one.

Tell us about the work that was selected to be included in Distinction by Kris Graves.

Whenever you look up, especially in a city, it seems there are always surveillance cameras watching. I photograph them in a graphically interesting environment, so people will see them and pay attention. Brooklyn-2 has been exhibited several times, and is now in the permanent collection of the Colorado Photographic Arts Center. 

Is the selected work part of a larger body of work?

Brooklyn-2 is from my series “NoMatterWhere,” which is part of a bigger project about surveillance and privacy, “BeSeeingYou.”

Who / what are your biggest influences?

These days, I’d have to say: The Russian Avant-Garde, for the graphic sensibility found in the paintings and photographs of the era. Edward Weston, because of what he could make out of a pepper. And Jeff Brouws, as I really admire his typologies depicting the American cultural landscape.

Are you making work in response to the current pandemic?

I am working on a project called Travel by Television while self-isolating. Photographing off a TV screen is often part of my process; there’s a part of my surveillance project that features the cameras that appear in all genres of television shows. Since I’m stuck at home, I’ve turned to my TV to let me travel the world. I even got to visit Seattle! 

You can find the images on Facebook, or on my Instagram, @slbehr

PCNW’s annual juried call for entry provides exhibition opportunities for artists and directly supports our programs, scholarships, and labs at PCNW. This helps ensure access to photography for many future generations of creatives. We know you have many options for submitting your work, so please tell us why you chose PCNW? What are your thoughts and experience with submitting your work to different calls? 

I love to be able to support institutions like PCNW, and I’ve been in a couple of your previous exhibitions. I wasn’t able to see those shows in person, and I was so thrilled to get this opportunity to finally come to Seattle. Then of course, the virus made that impossible. But I’m still proud my work was chosen by Kris Graves to be part of this wonderful exhibition.