Ray Ewing

Ray Ewing is a photographer and artist from the island of Martha's Vineyard. Ray received a BFA in photography from Maine College of Art in Portland in 2012, he is currently completing an MFA in studio art at The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Ray has worked as a photojournalist, commercial photographer, educator and an exhibiting artist. As a photojournalist, Ray has received multiple awards for his work with the Martha's Vineyard Gazette. As an artist, Ray has been a part of multiple group exhibitions as well as a solo show entitled Visual Stimulus.

Artist Statement: Realistic Worlds

Realistic Worlds is an exploration of the human need to design our reality to satisfy our desires. I study this general human trait by describing spaces which adhere to a specifically American definition of fantasy as being guided by self-evident power and excess. The structures of the tourism and entertainment industries are houses of worship for the American religion of escapism. We use a thin, glossy veneer of designed reality to engage in obviously absurd, yet culturally accepted sanctuaries of make-believe.