Photography exhibition at LCCC explores memory, loss and what endures

CHEYENNE, Wyoming – Family photographs transformed through physical manipulation will serve as reflections on grief and remembrance in an upcoming photography exhibition at Laramie County Community College.

What Lies Beyond, an exhibition by artist and educator Justin A. Carney, will be on display Nov. 2–Dec. 12 in the Esther and John Clay Fine Art Gallery on LCCC’s Cheyenne campus. The gallery is open 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Friday. A reception with the artist is set for 10–11:15 a.m. Nov. 19 in the gallery and adjoining lobby, followed by an artist talk from 11:15 a.m.–noon in the Surbrugg/Prentice Auditorium. Admission to the gallery, reception and artist talk is free and open to the public.

The exhibition features two complementary bodies of work that speak to one another. The first,  “and the disappearing has become” imagines a future in which the rest of Carney’s family has passed, while “Because I Live” reflects on his memories and emotions surrounding his grandmother’s death. Both series use photography and mixed media to depict the fragile process of remembering and forgetting. Through sanding, erasure and layering, Carney transforms family photographs into textured abstractions that make visible the way love and memory endure beyond physical presence.

Carney said the work grew from fears of future loss and the realization of how memories fade with time.

“After my grandmother passed, everything changed — my family, my relationships, how I relate to the world,” he said. “There was this fear that one day I’d forget her face, her voice and even how it felt to be near her. I started making work that tried to visualize that process of forgetting; something we don’t notice until we try to remember and can’t.”

Fragments of faces, furniture and household objects remain visible within many of the manipulated images. Carney said those surviving details remind viewers that even as people and moments fade, their influence persists.

“Even when we can’t recall every detail, the people who loved us are still part of who we are,” he said. “They never actually disappear. They stay with us.”

By sharing his own experiences of grief, Carney hopes others find connection through the work.

“Often when we lose someone, we hold that pain inside and think we’re the only ones feeling it,” he said. “I want people to see this work and realize they’re not alone. When visitors share their own stories after seeing these pieces, that means the art has done its job.”

Exhibiting at a college campus adds another layer of meaning for the artist, who teaches photography at Colorado State University. “As a teacher, I always want students to see that their lives and experiences are worthy subjects for art,” Carney said. “If people can learn and grow from what I do, that’s incredibly meaningful. This show is an opportunity to start those conversations.”

Carney is originally from Baltimore, Maryland. He holds an MFA in Studio Art with a concentration in Photography from Indiana University Bloomington and a BFA in Photography from Pennsylvania College of Art & Design. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, earning recognition such as the Beckmann Emerging Artist Fellowship from the Indy Arts Council and the First Place Single Image Award from the LensCulture Art Photography Awards.