Ethereal Ireland

Works by Beth Trepper

July 26, 2019 - September 1, 2019

Homestead

Artist Statement

For a country boasting “forty shades of green”, it might seem odd to portray the beauty of Ireland in near-monochrome photography. But once I started to shoot these images, I was drawn to the timeless drama and haunting quality the infrared camera produces. Ireland is such an ancient, mystical place, steeped in history and folklore; the dreamlike properties of infrared, which converts green foliage to snowy white and people to ghost-like figures, seems to evoke the mood of my ancestral Irish heritage. I have traveled throughout Ireland nearly two dozen times. Each journey has brought new discoveries and familiar homecomings. Staying on farms in the wild Connemara region and the remote southwestern peninsulas has given me access to dramatic, breathtaking scenery, gregarious villagers and my very favorite pastimes: wandering aimlessly down a dirt road, stopping to talk to the animals or exploring the rugged coastline.

I could spend my days doing only that. Or perhaps I might dance in the ruins of an abandoned castle. There, I am truly in my element. Every day offers a new and exciting adventure. I am in my beloved Ireland. My spirit rejoices. I am home.

Biography

Beth Trepper’s eclectic portfolio comprises fine art, fashion, portraiture, figurative, documentary, landscape and entertainment images. In more than 400 solo and group gallery exhibitions, she has shown her work extensively throughout the U.S., Ireland, Europe and the Caribbean. In addition to numerous book, magazine and newspaper publishing credits, including AAA World Magazine, The Irish Times, American Airlines and Islands Magazine, Beth’s corporate clients include Credit Suisse, Kenway Publications of Nairobi, Kenya, Capitol One Bank and Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital. Beth has won many photographic awards and in 2007, was inducted into the National League of American Pen Women in the Division of Arts. She was a founding member of the Brandywine Photo Collective in northern Delaware, a group of regional professional photographers. In 2017, Beth was awarded an Established Artist Fellowship from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a subsidiary of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Image: Self-Portrait by the Old Farmhouse, County Cork, Ireland, infrared photography, by Beth Trepper