Rebecca Moseman
Virginia native Rebecca Moseman received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1997 and her Master of Fine Arts from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2001. She has worked in academia, private industry, and Government as an instructor, consultant, and graphic designer and does freelance work in photography and publishing. Her work has been exhibited throughout the US and abroad and has been selected on the cover of Black+White Magazine, and featured within Black & White Magazine, GUP, Resource, DodHo, and SHOTS Magazine.
Artist Statement
The Irish Travelers are a proud and reclusive people, maintaining a culture and traditions whose origins are lost in time. In the fall of 2017, 2018 and 2019, I had the opportunity to be among them under the supervision of a fellow photographer who provided access to their world and allowed me to photograph their lives. This series of images reflects my personal interactions with the Travelers I connected with at the Ballinasloe Horse Fair, various halting sites, and illegal encampments throughout County Galway, Limerick and Dublin.
Release Date: July 9, 2021
Labre Park Halting Site, Dublin Ireland.
Alisha, a pre-teen Irish Traveler girl arrives back from school to Labre Park, her family's halting site. Alisha showed me around her halting site and posed briefly beside her family car when I took this photograph. Labre Park – named after the patron saint of Travelers, St Benedict Joseph Labre, is the oldest in Ireland. Although the site was seen as a desirable place to live for the many traveler families that came from areas of no running water and electricity, it has now become a safety hazard to more than the 20 families that live there.
Release Date: November 19, 2021
Carrowbrowne Halting Site, Galway, Ireland.
Billy, Steven, and Paddy, three Irish Traveler Boys from the Carrowbrowne Halting Site, use an abandoned car as their playground. The boys have no natural areas to play and so display their boredom, frustration, and aggression by destroying the car. The Carrowbrowne halting site, a rat-infested site is located on the outskirts of Galway city next to a waste management site. Although the site was intended to be temporary, it has now become their permanent area of living.