“There’s beauty hidden in plain sight, we just have to learn how to extract it.”
About Issei
Issei Morrissey is a Los Angeles-based visual artist born and raised in Los Angeles. Primarily, he focuses on photography and cinematography. Issei’s journey as a visual artist started in elementary school making short films with friends and continues to grow as he furthers his work experience, and education at Santa Monica College. In high school, Issei had his first exhibition at the DNJ gallery; that series examined form, light, and abstractions in day to day life. His main source of inspiration is from his environment, observing light, shadow, and form. Issei reimagines his environment through the lens of photography.
“My work is an exploration of my day to day life where I examine and extract from mundane scenes in manmade and natural environments that often go unnoticed. I enjoy taking those scenes and reimagining them. Oftentimes we walk past rocks on a hike or a parking structure without a second thought, but if we take a closer look, examine the structure, light, shadows, and textures there is something more to be seen. I believe that the camera is a fantastic tool to extract and isolate that information from those environments.
This is one of the reasons I fell in love with photography, especially black and white photography. Black and white photography has a sense of calmness and tranquility due to the lack of color; there are fewer distractions to the eye. I also find the whole process of photography from start to finish to be cathartic and zen. Whether it is in the darkroom processing film, making prints, or at home working on my computer, the whole process is incredibly meditative. It is a time where I have to be present and mindful.
As I continue to hone my skills, my perspective broadens and fuels my cathartic process of creating, exploring, and reimagining my environment.”
– Issei Morrissey
isseimorrissey.com
instagram.com/issei_morrissey
On display through 4.29.21
Helms Design Center at 8745 Washington Boulevard
All artwork is copyrighted work of the artist. All rights reserved. Images not to be used without permission.
