Susan Malmstrom

Since the late 1980s, my work has consisted of still-life photographs, originally using antique processes, such as Vandyke and salted paper printing, invented during the earliest days of photography.  In 2004, my method shifted dramatically, and now employs digital technology.  I have always liked for my still life images to resemble a kind of “Titanic debris field,” as though they were found scattered at the bottom of the ocean. This is probably based on the first excitement I felt at seeing images come up through photo chemicals in a tray.

Although contemporary media present different challenges than those of the 19th century, my work remains faithful to transforming real objects existing in time and space into non-reality based, allegorical imagery.