Collected Item: “She could see herself in the darkness”
Your Name
Phoebe Kiely
Your Pronouns
She/Her
Instagram handle, if any
phoebekiely_
Work Title
She could see herself in the darkness
Work Year (We are not accepting images older than 5 years)
2025
[Image Rights] Do you confirm that you hold the rights to this image?
Yes
[Eligibility] The Curve Photo Contest proudly centers and uplifts people who identify as lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer women and nonbinary people. Please share how you self-identify, using language that feels most accurate to you. Feel free to include all intersections of your identity. (Examples: lesbian, trans person of color, Latinx queer woman, radical faery, butch, etc.)
Lesbian
[Artist Statement] Tell us more about your photo by sharing a brief artist statement OR answering this prompt: "This is what being ______ means to me..." (Max. 100 words)
I have developed a photographic practice grounded in intimacy and observation. Since 2007, my work has been deeply rooted in analogue processes, which remain central to how I see, think, and make photographs. I explore subtle tensions between memory and landscape, tracing how environments hold personal histories. My projects unfold slowly, shaped by attentiveness to atmosphere, chance encounters, and the emotional undercurrents of everyday life. While much of my recent work has been based around where I currently reside, it also draws on experiences abroad over the last eight years. Over the past decade, I have collaborated with two publishers on distinct publications: They were my landscape, released by MACK in 2018, and a second book, She could see herself in the darkness, published by Witty Books in 2025. I approach the photobook as a contemplative object that reflects the layered, tactile nature of memory and time.
[Visual Description] Describe your photo so we can provide alt-text. Example: "Two women holding hands and smiling as they walk in a pride parade, surrounded by rainbow flags."
Portrait of myself and my partner, Alice.
[Agreement] In the event that you win the 2026 Curve Photo Contest, do you consent to having your photograph printed for the sole purpose of displaying at The Curve Foundation's one-day event at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco, CA) during Lesbian Visibility Week? The Curve Foundation will cover printing costs, but will not cover costs for mailing the print after the event ends.
Yes
[Agreement] Do you consent to The Curve Foundation storing, sharing, and using this image and its description as we deem appropriate, including disseminating on our social media, website, and Curve Archive and Curve Quarterly?
Yes
[Agreement] By checking 'I understand' below, I acknowledge that this contest upholds values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and I confirm that my submission does not contain anti-LGBTQ+ or other discriminatory, hateful, or exclusionary content.
I understand