Artist's Statement

I am interested in the fragility of identity, memory, and notions of time. Using Romantic, ephemeral imagery, my artworks examine the tenuousness of what we remember, how we construct identity, and the relationship of these human endeavors to internal and external narratives.

My photographs, drawings, sculpture, and installations are inspired by personal stories, Victorian literature, poetry, film, and fashion. Through the juxtaposition of diverse sources, from Emily Dickinson to Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, e.e. cummings to Alexander McQueen, silent films to the novels of Marguerite Duras, symbols from our collective memory emerge, blurring the lines between past and present, fiction and autobiography. 

Biography

Allyson Hollingsworth was obsessed with reading from an early age.  Growing up, she was often found curled up in a corner with the Brontes, Poe, Dickinson, and du Maurier. She was raised in a military family, and moved every two to three years across the United States and Germany. Home was wherever her books were, and to this day literature continues to play a central role in her artistic practice. 

Allyson Hollingsworth received an MFA from California Institute of the Arts, and a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design.  Her artwork can be seen in the movie Shopgirl.  She currently lives and works in Oakland, CA.