Kelli M Perletti

Kelli M. Perletti (She/They) is a photographer and photographic educator from the Pacific Northwest. Her bodies of work utilize a variety of analog, experimental and alternative processes, often fusing together processes to explore the fragility of existence, humanity and identity. Common themes they explore include chronic illness, gender identity, intergenerational trauma and the surreal experience of being alive.

Kelli began her photographic education in secondary school, graduating in 2012 from Central Washington University with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Studio Arts and receiving her Master of Fine Arts in Photography from Studio Arts College International, Florence, Italy, 2020. In between her undergraduate and graduate studies, Kelli lived, volunteered and worked in Central America. She continues to stay involved with the indigenous communities of Guatemala she’s gotten to know well over the last decade.

After many years of life abroad, Kelli returned to the Pacific Northwest to teach Photography and Graphic Design in Seattle, Washington. Her curriculum is a hybrid of digital, analog and experimental methods and focuses on teaching ethics and best practices in both subjects. Her students have gone on to place in State Photo competitions, win scholarships and have their photographs printed on Jones Soda bottles.

Kelli’s favorite processes to work with are Platinum-Palladium, Caffenol-C developer, Cyanotypes and Lumen Prints. She also enjoys experimenting with multiple exposures, toy and pinhole cameras, camera obscura and under fixing prints. Her favorite photographers are: Matika Wilbur, Claudia Andujar, Cherry Archer, Mel D. Cole, Myra Greene, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Xyza Cruz Bacani, Abelardo Morell, and Alessandra Capodacqua.