B: 1971, Los Angeles, California
James D. Phelan Award in Photography, 2007
2007
SF Camerawork : James D. Phelan Art Award Show : San Francisco, CA
AudioCinema : ACVC Show : Portland, OR
SF Arts Commission/PhotoAlliance : Our World @ SFAC Gallery : San Francisco, CA
2006
Group-Show.com/Humble Arts Foundation : New in Town/Pinned-Up @ 3rd Ward : Brooklyn, NY
Lantana Projects : Class of '06 @ 387 S. Main : Memphis, TN
Pure Plastic '06 @ SF Photo Center : San Francisco, CA
2005
Art Relief Katrina @ My Trick Pony : San Francisco, CA
Pure Plastic '05 @ SF Photo Center : San Francisco, CA
Collections
SF MoMa Artists Gallery : San Francisco, CA
Sadkids is a self-published photo zine that comes out roughly twice a year. It's principally a way for me
to get my photography in people's hands. It has been sold in shops all over the world, including SF, LA,
NY, Portland and Paris, and was recently a part of the Nieves Books Zine Library Show in Tokyo.
Geoffrey Ellis went to school to be a graphic designer, self-publishes a zine called Sadkids, loves to collect stuff
and loves taking pictures. He carries a camera everywhere he goes. He has lived in southern california, all over
Florida and Memphis, and now resides in SF with his beautiful wife and a bunch of cats. For more work visit:
geoffreyellis.com and sadkids.com
I have spent the last fifteen years taking photos of old buildings, pop culture relics, and kitschy, decaying signs in diverse
pockets throughout America. From the deep South, to lonesome towns in the Midwest, to the major cities of my home state
of California, I photograph what I see, love, and am unable explain in words.
Individually, my images may seem disjointed but looking at them as a whole conveys a greater picture of unpolished America.
My photos of old toys, hand-painted signs, porn that was once hot, and more recently the interiors of old bars, lounges and stores,
are meant to capture a sense of nostalgia that binds us all.
I like junk. Not only do I love to collect stuff, I love seeing the collections of others. My house is like its own island of misfit toys.
I used to troll flea markets and thrift stores for fun; looking for those discarded bits of Americana whose value was largely lost in time.
My finds were often sold to other collectors because the hunt was more important than the actual items. I no longer have time to sell
my finds and my house is full. So I now do with junk what I used to do with an absurd sign I couldn't
have — capture it on film.
This work is my own brand of nature photography: documenting the man-made world, instead of the natural one. I don't stage or
rearrange anything I find. These things are only perfect in their current environment: objects on a flea market tarp, faded posters
in a liquor store, toys that were once loved now waiting for new homes. By capturing these images, my hope is to give new value
to the past while commenting on the present.