Erin Dorn, the founder and director of Seven Sisters, is showing the work of Houston-based artist Emily Peacock, who is also an associate professor of photography at Sam Houston State University and moonlights as a stand-up comedian. Peacock’s photography is diaristic and nostalgic, drawing on her everyday life and different aspects of her identity. Her palette of soft pastels is paired with edgier subjects, including cigarettes and flowers and a cake impaled by a middle finger.
“There's always a wry, dark sense of humour, almost a balance between hope and despair, in her work,” Dorn says. “We envision this booth being sort of like a homage to a roadside smoke shop or flower shop.”
Peacock grew up in Port Arthur, around 90 miles outside Houston, and says she draws on her "white trash” heritage in her practice. She also cites local and regional cultural figures including Robert Rauschenberg, Janis Joplin and the rap group UGK. (At the fair’s preview, UGK member Bun B perused records at a special record-store pop-up created by the artist Dave Muller.)
For Ledvina, that mix of influences, people and possibilities is part of what makes Houston work as an artistic community, even if navigating it can be difficult.
“If you come here, you may need a Sherpa,” Ledvina says. “I find it a strange place that trips over itself, but somehow gets it right most of the time. But it’s a clumsy spot that allows for all kinds of opportunities to happen.”
