FRANCES BUKOVSKY

Pathology series, Frances Bukovsky, Lumen printing on silver gelatin paper

Plasmalyte 1000mL, 13 x 16 in: A pink print with a ghostly contact image of an IV bag in white on its surface. The text on the bag is illegible except for "plasmalyte 1000mL." The interior of the bag has the greenish texture of moisture.

Dear Valued Patient, 10 x 13 in: A light beige print with the words "Dear Valued Patient" highlighted on the left side with light text on a darker brown smudge. At the bottom is the word "Thank You."

Sick Calendar, 10 x 12 in: A purple print with amorphous splashes of chemicals around an imprint of a square prednisone dose pack with all of the pills popped out. The number of the pill pockets decreases along the left side of the package.

I make images about chronic illness, disability, and queerness and the relationships between selfhood, other beings and places, and medical experiences. My work uses a combination of self portraiture, documentary photography, and alternative processes so that I can explore my own dynamic experience of disability and gender identity from different perspectives. Alongside photography and print based images, I also create photobooks that weave together writing and photography to create vulnerable experiences for the reader. Common themes in my work include the relationship between privacy and disability, the burden of proof placed upon ill individuals when accessing accommodations and care, what care between people, places, and other beings may look like, and how larger systems create specific impacts in individual lives.

Frances Bukovsky (They/Them) is a photographer making work about chronic illness, disability, and queerness in the context of selfhood, relationships, and medical experiences. They utilize self portraiture, documentary photography, and alternative processes to explore their dynamic and fluid experience of both illness and gender.

Bukovsky grew up in upstate New York and earned a BFA with Honors in Photography and Imaging from Ringling College of Art and Design. Since then, they have published their debut monograph, Vessel (2020), with Fifth Wheel Press, and have contributed work to numerous publications including Archer Magazine’s Disability Issue, and Soft Lighting Studio’s Vol. 1, 2, and 3. Their work has been included in exhibitions such as If We Never Get Better at TILT Institute for the Contemporary Image curated by Sydney Ellison, and Wanted: A World For One Billion at the United Nations HQ in NYC.

A core part of Bukovsky’s artistic practice is engaging with and building community. In 2020, they became a founding member of Life At Six Feet, a photography project in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and continues to serve as a founding member of the Kinship Photography Collective where they facilitate practice groups, community conversations, and support photographic work made by the community.

Bukovsky was an artist in residence at the Peter Bullough Foundation in 2022 where they hosted a lumen printing workshop for the community that encouraged thoughtful exploration of participant’s medical experiences. They continue to offer financially accessible workshops and practice groups that support participants in using photography as a tool for deeply connecting with their own lives.

Bukovsky currently lives in Marshall, North Carolina where they work as a freelance artist and photography instructor as well as a support professional for people with disabilities in the community.