FACULTY
ABBEY HEPNER
Abbey Hepner is the Area Head of Photography and Digital Media. Hepner received an MFA in Photography from the University of New Mexico in 2016. In 2008, she received a BFA in Studio Art and a BA in Psychology from the University of Utah. Her artistic practice examines health, technology, and our relationship with place through photography, video, electronic, and installation-based work. She frequently works at the intersection of art and science, investigating biopolitics and the use of health as a currency.
Hepner’s work has been exhibited widely in such venues as the Mt. Rokko International Photography Festival in Japan, SITE Santa Fe, the University of Buffalo Art Galleries, Krannert Art Museum, Noorderlicht Photofestival in the Netherlands, and Newspace Center for Photography. Hepner has been an artist in residence at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Canada, and her work has been highlighted in Hyperallergic, Lenscratch, Ars Technica, Artillery Magazine, and Fraction Magazine. She has presented at the International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA), Society for Photographic Education (SPE) conferences, and the Yuma Arts Symposium. Hepner also writes as a content contributor for Strange Fire Collective, which highlights the work of women, people of color, and queer and trans artists. Her monograph, The Light at the End of History, was published by Daylight Books in 2021.
Artist's Website: http://www.abbey-hepner.com
TOMMY BRUCE
Tommy Bruce serves as a Lecturer of Photography at SIUE for 2021. He is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he received his MFA in Studio Art from the University of New Mexico in 2020. In 2014, he received a BFA in Photography with a minor in Creative Writing from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. His art practice centers on identity construction as it relates to ecology, technology, media, and sexuality through work with the internet subculture known as the Furry community. His work incorporates photography, performance, writing, video, and experimental digital media.
Bruce’s work has been exhibited widely, including venues such as the Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, The University of New Mexico Art Museum, Living Arts, The SCAD Museum of Art, Candela Gallery, Ellsworth Gallery, and the Incheon Marine Photo Festival. His work has been featured in Art in America, Lenscratch, Southwest Contemporary Magazine, and Topic.
Artist’s Website: https://tommybruce.net/