Jamie Robertson

soft heat

March 12 to April 12, 2026

© Jamie Robertson

Artist Talk
March 18, 2026 from 6:30 - 8:00 PM

Opening Reception
March 12, 2026 from 6:15 - 8:00 PM

soft heat is a photographic study of wetlands in the Southern United States through black and white infrared film photography. Falling out of the visible spectrum of light, infrared images visually shift our understanding of what is seen allowing the environment’s memory or ‘specter’ to be realized. What can a swamp remember? Does the Great Dismal Swamp remember George Washington’s “triumphant” trek into its’ interior? Does it remember the hundreds of Maroons who called it home? This work is a continuation of my exploration of swamps and the space they hold in American society. Emerging from crowd-sourced data, the title soft heat embodies the qualities of the landscape and the infrared image. The swamp's soft, watery environment is rendered as thermal 'heat' in a soft, spectral light, challenging harsh attitudes to uncover the environment's delicate strength.

My creative practice explores the environment of the American South and its relationship to Blackness. Deep in Southern soil lies a rich history of Black defiance. Through research, writing, photography, and video art, my work excavates this history, contending with the vilified and monolithic narrative of the Southern United States. Using a Black Feminist Hauntological and Eco-Womanist lens, I balance this layered and sometimes untold history while honoring the land. I approach image-making fluidly, oscillating between analog and digital processes. I utilize text, archival images, and found imagery as materials and companions to my work to oppose the hierarchy of high and low culture. Currently, I am interested in black and white infrared film as a poetic means of seeing beyond human sight, revealing the “spectral” presence that haunts the Southern landscape.

calor suave es un estudio fotográfico de los humedales del sur de los Estados Unidos realizado mediante fotografía infrarroja en blanco y negro. Al situarse fuera del espectro visible de la luz, las imágenes infrarrojas desplazan visualmente nuestra comprensión de lo que se ve, permitiendo que la memoria —o el “espectro”— del entorno se haga presente. ¿Qué puede recordar un pantano? ¿Recuerda el Gran Pantano Dismal la “triunfal” incursión de George Washington en su interior? ¿Recuerda a los cientos de cimarrones que lo llamaron hogar?

Este trabajo es una continuación de mi exploración de los pantanos y del espacio que ocupan dentro de la sociedad estadounidense. Surgido a partir de datos de origen colectivo, el título calor suave encarna las cualidades del paisaje y de la imagen infrarroja. El entorno suave y acuoso del pantano se traduce en un “calor” térmico representado por una luz suave y espectral, desafiando miradas duras para revelar la fuerza delicada del entorno.

Mi práctica creativa explora el entorno del sur de Estados Unidos y su relación con la negritud. En lo profundo del suelo sureño yace una rica historia de resistencia negra. A través de la investigación, la escritura, la fotografía y el videoarte, mi trabajo excava esa historia y confronta la narrativa vilificada y monolítica del sur estadounidense. Desde una perspectiva feminista negra hauntológica y eco-womanista, equilibro esta historia estratificada y, en ocasiones, silenciada, al tiempo que honro la tierra.

Me acerco a la creación de imágenes de manera fluida, oscilando entre procesos analógicos y digitales. Utilizo el texto, imágenes de archivo y material encontrado como materiales y acompañantes de mi obra para oponerme a la jerarquía entre la alta y la baja cultura. Actualmente, me interesa el uso de película infrarroja en blanco y negro como un medio poético para ver más allá de la visión humana, revelando la presencia “espectral” que acecha el paisaje del sur.

About the Artist: Jamie Robertson

Jamie Robertson (B. 1988 American) is a visual artist and educator working in photography and video. Born and raised in Houston, her Texas roots inform her practice as she explores the environmental history of the South and its relationship to Blackness.

Robertson has exhibited her work nationally and internationally in numerous group and solo exhibitions at institutions such as Vermont Center for Photography, Brattleboro, VT; SF Camerawork, San Francisco, CA; Galveston Arts Center, Galveston, TX; Alabama Contemporary Art Center, Mobile, AL, and Exposure Photography Festival in Alberta, Canada. She has received multiple grants and fellowships, most recently through The Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University and the Elizabeth River Project. Her work has been featured in Glasstire, Flat Files, and Fraction Magazine. Robertson has published two photographic books, Charting the Afriscape of Leon County, Texas, and alligatorwatergreen with Fifth Wheel Press and National Monument Press, respectively. Her work is held in both public and private collections.

Jamie earned an MFA in Studio Art from the University of Houston and an MS in Art Therapy from Florida State University. Robertson is an Assistant Professor at Old Dominion University and works between Texas and Virginia. Currently, her research explores the Great Dismal Swamp and its connection to maroonage in the Southern United States.

www.jamievrobertson.com

@__jamie.jpg

Questions?

For questions about this exhibition, please contact Exhibitions

Exhibitions and Programs Coordinator, exhibits@hcponline.org or 713-529-4755, ext 106.