October 24 - November 24, 2024
From the Houston Center for Photography:
“I use the camera to delve into the strangeness of my small West Texas hometown, capturing the characters who shape the community and connecting them to my personal experiences. By blending the practices of journalism and documentary photography, I explore working life, regional culture, the economy, and the concept of home in Pecos—a desert town marked by the cycles of the oil boom and bust.
Through photography, along with occasional video, text, and mixed media, I document how communities express their lives through food, family, music, dance, and fashion. My work aims to sensitively portray rural life, highlighting intimate moments: families at home, local workers, teens riding rodeo horses, my own relatives, and the vast West Texas landscape. I embrace the “boredom” of a place often perceived as having nothing to do, while revealing the rich personal and collective narratives beneath the surface.
At its heart, my work is a love letter to Pecos, grounded in a deep commitment to documenting its history and culture with closeness, care, and respect.
Hope Mora is an artist and photographer who divides her time between Houston and West Texas. For over a decade, she has captured the essence of her hometown, Pecos, Texas, through a personal lens, sharing insights into the local culture and community life.
Mora has been commissioned by The New Yorker, Vogue, and The Texas Tribune, where she has covered topics ranging from cultural celebrations and the effects of climate change to significant events like the 2022 mass shooting in Uvalde, and other Texas news. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and public spaces, including NXTHVN in New Haven, CT, the Center for the Study of the Southwest, Mexic-Arte Museum, Public Art San Antonio, Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center, and The Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art (BICA), among others.”
Reception: October 24, 2024 | 6–8 pm
Houston Center for Photography
1441 West Alabama Street
Houston, 77006 TX
(713) 529-4755
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