StoreShane Booth was raised in Nebraska in a small farming community and graduated with a BA in Art from Nebraska Wesleyan University and an MFA in Photography from the Savannah College of Art and Design. He has taught photography at Fayetteville State University for the past 10 years. His work has taken him to Ethiopia, where he worked with HIV positive children and to Sweden where he was a contestant on the Swedish reality TV show Allt for Sverige where he was nominated for favorite TV star at the Gay Galan awards. His work has been exhibited nationally and he has won several artist grants that have allowed him to continue his photographic endeavors. He has had work published in local magazines and several books. Most of his photography deals with self portraits and identity as well as landscapes.
In 2009 I was diagnosed with HIV. It was a scary time and as I often do I turned to my camera to help face my new diagnosis head on. I would grab my grandma’s old dresses, as I have always been attached to her things and their history, and set out to create a body of work that demonstrated what it was like living with HIV. In the middle of dealing with my diagnosis one of my best friends was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The work now shifted from my diagnosis, to dealing with a feeling of total loss of control. If I were having a bad day, I would grab my camera and head to one of my favorite places and shoot what I had experienced that day. Some days it dealt with religion, and other days raw emotions. In 2013 I was cast on a Swedish Reality TV show about finding my Swedish ancestors. Finding out about my ancestors helped me to heal and again the work changed from gloom and doom to strength and perseverance. Vulnerabilities Groom is a visual diary that takes the viewer on my journey.