I am honored to have been selected as one of twelve photographers to be published in the Fotofilmic Spring 2020 JRNL 4 edited by Katherine Harris Pomerantz of TIME. Pomerantz selected an ongoing series titled ‘Habitual Tendencies’ in which I am exploring the result of routine: subtle inclinations that are imprinted in our minds, our environment. These images are products of my unquenchable curiosity in the world around me.

Pomerantz’ caption accompanied my images reading, “”A curiously placed surveillance camera, a staircase leading into murky water, a neighborhood shack emanating a strange orange glow from within. Each image raises more questions than answers, and allows the viewer to enter a liberated state of childlike wonder. Bowen’s work is an important reminder that sometimes all it takes is curiosity to extract the extraordinary from the ordinary.”

When I was exploring topics for my thesis the idea of habits was something that kept grabbing my attention. I felt inspired by memories of tire tracks in the grass in front of the mailbox of my childhood home, sun-bleached and worn down by the postal person’s 6 day week: the tan lines from tank tops and bathing suits that summer left behind: the way my walk wore down the soles of my shoes at an angle that eventually made it necessary to retire them. These memories felt impossible to document and portray in an ambiguous way that would allow others to connect to them. In 2019 I joined a critique group in Portland with the intent to focus on cohesive imagery. This allowed me the opportunity to reflect on the work I have been making post thesis and it was there I noticed I had subconsciously found a way to document those habitual tendencies.