Extended Plays.
Definition: An EP, short for extended play, is a musical release that is longer than a single, but shorter than a full-length album. It typically contains around two to five tracks.
For this call, we asked to see a lil’ bit, but not all the goods.
As music nerds, we love a good EP. But EPs in art? Think about it. An EP packs a punch in just a few tracks, giving you a taste of the artist's soul. They cram story and style into just a handful of moments. Alright, now picture this: translating that essence into your own artistic world.
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Here at the space in between, we’ve spent many hours mulling over some of the most talented up and coming artists who threw their hat in the ring for our extended plays call. After careful consideration we selected a group of artists who demonstrated that same EP attitude - giving us glimpses into their vision through carefully curated works. Each piece serves as a track on their visual EP, offering just enough to intrigue and highlight their creative direction without revealing their entire personal album. While some voices may still be developing, we found ourselves drawn to their willingness to experiment and their authentic approach to storytelling through their chosen mediums. The selected works reflect artists who aren't afraid to leave us wanting more, who understand that sometimes the most powerful statements come in shorter formats.. And these artists did just that.
"In my work, I explore themes of intimacy, age, and home. I use photography as a means of performance, and to restage memories. The images I create are amalgamations of personal narrative, site history, and model cooperation.
It is important to me, and to the image, that the models are my family, friends, and peers. The preexisting connection between myself and the subject limits embarrassment and allows for genuine vulnerability. I tell them everything: where to be; what to wear; how to position their bodies; what facial expression they should have. It’s a slow process. One that allows time for play and reminiscence, and it is slowed more by the medium of film. While I carefully meter and adjust to find the right frame, my subjects have time to sink in and connect with me. Personal intimacy becomes inherent to the process. Film implies tactility and unpredictability which helps me feel more connected to the images themselves and the narrative I am creating. It is something that I must treat kindly and take care of like I would the family and friends that I’m documenting.
I am strongly influenced by the work of Doug DuBois, Larry Sultan, Chris Verene, and Pixy Lao. Like my predecessors, I am interested in blurring the line between staged narrative and documentation as a means to comment on the complexity of interpersonal relationships. While the images themselves are highly specific to me, they evoke feelings that are universal and allow viewers to connect the emotion to their own experience."
JOSH PETERSON
"Josh P. is a lens-based visual artist from Dallas, TX who focuses mainly on self-
portraiture and repurposed archive images. He is currently a junior studying photography and
digital media at the University of Houston with a minor in art history, alongside his studies he is
also the Education Assistant at the Houston Center for Photography. His work often revolves
around intimacy and his identity as a queer man which manifests itself in many different
photographic ways with each project he tackles."
APRIA
"I strive to grow as an artist that can one day fully support myself from art. I would love to constantly push out art, quality content, go on tour with my band, and eventually make solo music as well. I love to connect with every artist that I can find in Houston and around the world."
JAILYNE (JAE) ESPAÑA
"Drawing from her experiences as a cancer survivor, Jailyne España infuses her work with the constant anticipation and tension that permeates life’s liminal states. The uncomfortable state and built-up of non-resolving tension in her work mirrors her life of unpredictability and fear of the unknown post-cancer treatment. This emotional intensity permeates her practice, reflecting the uncertainties and complexities she faces. España’s practice in traditional painting and printmaking becomes a gateway to the in-between—the liminal spaces where fear, absence, nostalgia, and anticipation converge. These spaces are depicted from a third-person perspective, an enigmatic presence, a viewpoint transcending our world, an observer. Through this lens, she reimagines familiar places—living rooms, staircases—as ethereal landscapes where the mundane takes on a mysterious allure."
CHARLIE KING
"Through sculpture, photography, printmaking, and installation Charlie King shares his personal
lived experience at the intersection of queerness and mental illness. His work unravels the
complexities of mental health with authenticity and vulnerability. His art is a testament to
resilience and self-discovery, inviting viewers to confront their own preconceptions and
embrace the multifaceted nature of the human psyche
Central to his approach is the use of vibrant colors and textual elements, which punctuates the
works raw emotion and unfiltered narratives. Through his use of bright colors and graphic
imagery he highlights the strong and often over powering ideas around mental illness."
ALEXANDRA LECHIN
"Alexandra Isabel Lechin is a person, curious. At this moment, her curiosity finds an intersection between forms of language, visual translation, bodies and lines in space, art as social practice, and somatic expression. Her credentials are pending as she decides how to present herself, education, and experience. REWIND. Alexandra is a first generation North American, she has Venezuelan, Bolivian, Lebanese and Spanish roots, art was a means for self-healing, a happy accident. Common themes in her work are repetition, pattern recognition, process as the product and metaphorical basket weaving with the intention to provide the viewer/participant an opportunity to explore reality. The transformative power Art holds is medicine accessible for all. She claims no medium as a maker, the medium claims her per piece. Some of her hats may include but are not limited to: poet, ceramicist, woodworker, welder, performer, organizer, facilitator, art installer, fabricator, dancer, smoker, composer, sculptor NOT a painter. A yellow hummingbird with an orange tail, blue and purple spots, red feet. Maybe a green needle but that’s our secret."
ADRIANNA PLOWDEN
"In this collection, I focused on capturing a mixture of intimate and unexpected moments. I wanted this collection to explore the theme of blackness, in both a conceptual and realistic way. I wanted to capture unexpected and expected moments of those around me who wear my similar skin tone. My concept of capturing black people through portraiture came into fruition by taking photos of my friends and family. In addition, the use of monochromatic is important to highlight the soulfulness and raw emotion within the photos. The monochromatic theme is used to strip away any colorful distractions and help enhance the essence, texture, and hyperrealist aura of my work. In conclusion, this collection works to display moments framed from the black perspective to show frank authenticity to be interpreted how the audience desires."
JACOB BATISTA
"Jacob Bautista is a South Texas interdisciplinary artist. Based out of Houston and using
photography and video as a primary form or artistic medium, they may also include
works with painting, sculpture, and sound art for use in art instillations. His work often
explores family, culture, time, kinetics, music, and pop culture with occasions of a dark
and visually stunning undertones."
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