Portals, by Joyce Hankins of MoonShadow Press

Artist Statement:

In her body of work, Portals, Hankins creates still-life scenes that she photographs from above in the flatlay style. Each scene is designed to transport viewers elsewhere, making them forget they are actually looking at objects on a table in her studio. These intersections of fantasy and reality, which she defines as whimsy, work hand-in-hand with themes of world-building, curiosity, and self-expansion.

Each distinct flatlay scene includes one or two signature images spanning the scene as a whole, as well as a series of close-up images capturing smaller compositions and details.

In an era where more and more limited resources are delegated to digital and cloud-based storage, Hankins values conserving digital space within her creative practice. As a result, she intentionally does not shoot in RAW and keeps her JPGs within the 2-5 MB size range until formatting for print. Hankins practices a low-tech, low-consumeristic photographic process. She solely uses her phone as a camera, and foregoes extra equipment to shoot with natural light and regular house-lamps. Hankins welcomes the limitations and imperfections these decisions add to her work, as they provide evidence of a human touch within a progressively more perfected, hands-off, and technology-driven world.

To contrast the prevalence of mass produced imagery, Hankins’s Portals are printed in limited editions of three. The smallest size of each print is 18x24 inches, with larger editions available when clarity allows.

Portal No. 21: Autumn Academia Library, 2026

24x18, Edition of 3

Portal No. 20: Dark Academia Laboratory, 2026

24x18, Edition of 3

Portal No. 19: Dark Academia Game Room, 2026

24x18, Edition of 3

Portal No. 18: Nautical Academia Captain’s Quarters, 2026

24x18, Edition of 3

Portal No. 17: Celestial Academia Observatory, 2026

24x18, Edition of 3

Portal No. 16: Salon de la Nature Académie, 2026

24x18, Edition of 3

Portal No. 15: Field Guide to Outdoor Academia, 2026

24x18, Edition of 3

Portal No. 14: Romantic Academia Chamber, 2026

24x18, Edition of 3

Portal No. 13: How to Find a Fairy Tale, 2026

24x18, Edition of 3

Portal No. 12: Light Academia Study Hall, 2026

24x18, Edition of 3

Portal No. 11: Pastel Academia Studio, 2025

24x18, Edition of 3

Portal No. 10: Dark Academia Study, 2025

24x18, Edition of 3

Portal No. 9: Botanist’s Greenhouse, 2024

24x18, Edition of 3

Portal No. 6: Theories of Time Classroom, 2022

24x18, Edition of 3

Portal No. 5: The University of Curiosity, 2022

24x18, Edition of 3

Portal No. 4: World Builder’s Workshop, 2022

24x18, Edition of 3

Five Portals | 24x18 with 0.5 inch border + 2 inch mat + frame

Artist Bio:

Joyce Hankins began her creative studio, MoonShadow Press, in 2014 after receiving her BFA from Washington University in St. Louis. In 2015, she won the St. Louis Art Fair’s Emerging Artist Award, and partnered with her family in the opening of Back Lot Gallery (BLG) in Brenham, Texas. Until the gallery’s closing in 2020, Hankins was BLG’s in-house graphic designer, as well as a reoccurring showcasing artist. She curated four solo shows, was included in two group shows, and was the gallery’s first Artist in Residence. Hankins’s photography has been featured in several magazines: Midwest Magazine, Click Magazine, and In Her Studio. Her flatlays have also been featured in two national mental health events: “This Is My Brave,” hosted by ANAD (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders) in partnership with ERC (Eating Recovery Center), and “Say It Brave on Campus,” hosted by ERC.