“It was high-speed adrenaline,” artist Jessamyn Lovell tells SF Chronicle. “I’m jumping in and out of the SUV photographing her. She hops on the bus, she gets off the bus. She goes to Goodwill.”
A few years ago, Lovell started receiving strange bills and court summons for theft. It turned out that a San Francisco-based woman named Erin Hart stole her identity. And the Dear Erin Heart project was born.
In an effort to piece together my transgressor’s crime spree, I documented relevant places, interviewed witnesses, hired a private investigator, and even photographed Erin Hart being released from jail. Through photography, video, and other forms of documentation, I make an attempt at understanding a little about this woman and the course of events that brought their lives together.
Not as cool as when that artist stole the fictional identity of an undercover cop, but whatever works.
On view at SF Camerawork through October 18th. (Images: Jessamyn Lovell)
