Coriana Close

Coriana Close was recently promoted to Associate Professor of Photography at The University of Memphis. She has a BA in Cinema Studies with Honors in Studio Art from Oberlin College, and an MFA in Photography from The University of Arizona. Coriana works in both still photography and appropriated layered video. Her work has been noted in publications including the Philadelphia Inquirer, UA News, Athens News, Chronicle Tribune and the Republican American.

Conceptually her work focuses on social justice, state-sanctioned violence, and the relationship between human beings and the natural world. Her projects often document forgotten historical landscapes such as underground railroad sites in Ohio, and abandoned cemeteries in Tennessee. Her most recent project, Cuba Landing Food Forest, marks a shift toward creating alternative non-violent environmental options.