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Biography

Much of the work of Susan Derges (born 1955, London) revolves around the creation of visual metaphors exploring the relationship between the self and nature. She endeavors to capture both visible and invisible scientific and natural processes - the physical appearance of sound, the evolution of frogspawn or the reflection of the moon and stars on water. She is best known for her pioneering technique of capturing the movement of water by immersing photographic paper directly into rivers or shorelines.  

Recently she has begun working in the studio combining analog and digital techniques to create new forms and perspectives hitherto impossible to capture.  Her practice reflects the work of the earliest pioneers of photography but is also contemporary in its experimentation and awareness of both conceptual and environmental issues.  For over four decades she has consistently found new ways to express her personal preoccupations concerning the relationship between photography, water, and the environment in a constantly evolving body of compelling, diverse imagery.

Susan Derges' work is in the collection of museums around the world including The Getty, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Victoria and Albert Museum, London; The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; The Museum of Fine Art, Houston; and The Hara Art Museum, Tokyo among many others.