Bio
Tammy Mercure (b 1976, Sioux City Ia) has exhibited internationally, including solo shows at Chicago Cultural Center in Illinois and the Sioux City art Center in Iowa and group shows at Catherine Edelman Gallery in Chicago. She has received numerous awards and grants, including a Polaroid art Support Grant and several CaaP grants from the City of Chicago. She is a member and founder of the appalachian Photographers Project. Images from Wonders were published in the book “Place, art, and Self” by Yi-fu Tuan. She was the Digital Imaging facilities Coordinator (1999-2007) at Columbia College Chicago where she received her B.a. She is currently residing in Johnson City TN where she received her M.f.a. from East Tennessee State University.
Project Statement
Big Rock Candy Mountain (2007-ongoing)
I am photographing the tourist towns that accompany the natural beauty of The Great Smoky Mountains. The most notable of the towns are Pigeon forge and Gatlinburg in Tennessee and Cherokee in North Carolina. The pure spectacle of the towns brimming with shopping, all-you-can-eat buffets, and pure entertainment, stop some visitors from even seeing the nature up close and unmediated. The attractions fascinate me as they speak to our deepest desires, like being close to wild animals and being transported to new fantastic places for escape. The prints are 22”x28”.