06/04/2026
Meet our Photographers: Joanne Seador: Joanne’s exhibition, The Phantom Midway: Drifting between Illusion and Decay, a haunting visual meditation on the ongoing "vanishing act" of America’s most iconic playground: Coney Island, is currently on view in our gallery (through June 14). Here she answers our questions...
🔴Soho Photo Gallery: What would you like people to know about you or your work?
🔵Joanne Seador: My creative journey is deeply rooted in a sensitivity to fleeting moments—those, shifts in atmosphere, light, and emotion that most people walk right past. Over the years, my practice has undergone a significant evolution. I began with a traditional documentary sensibility, focused on recording the world exactly as it appeared. However, I gradually realized that objective documentation wasn't enough to convey the emotional truth of what I was experiencing. My work has shifted toward a much more expressive, subjective, and atmospheric visual language. I want viewers to step into my images and experience a sense of mystery, memory, and nostalgia, moving away from literal reality and into a more dreamlike interpretation.
🔴SPG: What or who has been your biggest inspiration?
🔵JS: I have an innate love of learning, and I find constant inspiration in different artists, shifting environments, and the everyday textures around me. But when I look at my artistic foundation, my biggest inspiration comes from two incredible women whose art practices sit at opposite ends of the photographic spectrum: Sarah Charlesworth and Susan Meiselas.
On one hand, Sarah Charlesworth’s conceptual brilliance and her deliberate, studio-based manipulation of imagery taught me how to think about the deeper metaphors embedded within a photograph. On the other hand, Susan Meiselas’s legendary, boots-on-the-ground documentary work showed me the power of raw human narrative and deep immersion. Despite their contrasting methodologies, they share a profound common ground that has shaped me entirely: an unwavering commitment to their craft, fierce creativity, absolute honesty in their work, and an amazing spirit of generosity toward the artistic community. They taught me that there is no single "right" way to be a photographer.
🔴SPG: What is the process/technique you used for this body of work?
🔵JS: For me, the process always begins physically with my camera. It serves as my anchor and the essential starting point for every piece. However, pressing the shutter is only the first step of the journey. Once the raw image is captured, the heavy lifting begins in post-production, where I mold and sculpt the photograph to align with the specific emotions and psychological energy I was experiencing while standing on that boardwalk.
To achieve this, the final images are heavily layered and textured. I manipulate contrast, tone, and digital grain to strip away the clean, modern sharpness of contemporary photography. This layering process mirrors the way memory works—it’s never perfectly clear; it is built of overlapping impressions, softened edges, and weathered textures. The final print becomes an artifact of a feeling rather than a mere digital file.
🔴SPG: What does photography mean to you?
🔵JS: Photography is not just a profession or a hobby for me; it is my art practice and my way of navigating the world. There is, for me, a magic in the physical experience of being behind the camera—the act of framing a shot, waiting for the light to hit a rusted rollercoaster track just right, and later processing the work.
In a world that is incredibly loud, fast-paced, and constantly demanding our attention, photography grants me that sacred space of absolute solitude. When I am shooting, the noise of the world falls away. It is an immersive state of being that cannot be duplicated by any other experience in my life. It is my sanctuary, and my voice.
🔵Website: www.JoanneSeador.com
🔵Instagram:
