Jhenn Watts

Classically trained in photography, Jhenn Watts probes deep into the Vineyard landscape, creating one-of-a-kind, documentary-style images that capture the ever-changing nature of the island over time. 

Born in 1974 and originally from Yarmouth, Maine, Jhenn attended Mass College of Art and Design, where she majored in photography and minored in glass work. She graduated with an Honors BFA in 1996, an exemplary achievement awarded to only a few students in each class.  

After graduation, Jhenn moved to the Vineyard to work with members of Martha’s Vineyard Glassworks. She began showing her photography around the Island and New England in 1997, while working an array of odd jobs including blacksmith’s assistant, window dresser, and manager of the Old Tyme photo studio in Oak Bluffs. 

Jhenn has studied photography with Aberlardo Morrell, master of camera obscura, and Laura McPhee, from whom she learned the absolute stress on composition that has since become a distinct element of her work. 

For Jhenn, the composition is paramount. She strives to maintain the “integrity of the image,” the reality of that exact moment in time while documenting a constantly shifting landscape. She shoots in full sun, against all the rules, resulting in strikingly bold juxtapositions of deep shadows, crisp colors, and stunning views. 

For over twenty years, Jhenn shot exclusively in Polaroid film, and to this day uses minimal digital processes in her work. Working with transparency film allows her to create only positives, capturing unique images with a vintage feel as well as a  metaphorical symbolism she enjoys. “There are no negatives in my work,” Jhenn says. “There’s also no loss of generation. The film captures exactly what is in front of it.” 

This commitment to authenticity extends to the processes and equipment Jhenn uses. Her large-format prints are made with a 4x5 camera, which mimics the exact ratio in which images are absorbed by the human eye. Her one-of-a-kind pieces and small-run prints are held in collections across the country. “I’m interested in the integrity of the original medium,” Jhenn says. “I’m careful and meticulous, and I edit a lot.” 

After calling Martha’s Vineyard home for more than 25 years, Jhenn is inspired by the endlessly evolving Island landscape and feels a sense of responsibility to document these changes over time. “Lucy Vincent beach doesn’t look the same as it did when I first started,” she says. “That’s what my work has become about: capturing these moments before they’re gone.” 

In addition to being represented by the Field Gallery, Jhenn has worked for the Granary family galleries since 2003 and is currently Gallery Director at the Field. 

In 2018, Jhenn began collaborating with her husband, fine art jeweler Kenneth Pillsworth, under the series name JK Wattsworth, creating unique lockets that combine her photography with his abstract metal designs.  

Jhenn is active in the Island’s art community, volunteering with a number of local organizations, and lives with her husband year round in Vineyard Haven.

Documenting her Island home:

Q&A with Jhenn Watts in her Studio:

Artifacts Blog: Creative Couple, Jhenn Watts and Kenneth Pillsworth