Susan Derges is a British photographic artist specialising in camera-less photographic processes, and working most often with natural landscapes.
BORN IN 1965
Susan Derges studies painting at the Chelsea School of Art in the late 70s and completed her postgraduate studies at the Slade School of Fine Art before moving to Japan, where she continued her research at Tsukuba University. She has taught at the University of Plymouth and been External Examiner at Middlesex University but currently lives and works in Devon.
Her work has been exhibited in numerous international exhibitions including Shadows on the Wall: Cameraless Photography at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and Shadow Catchers at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
Collections holding her work include Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Brooklyn Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. She has also received an Honorary Fellowship of The Royal Photographic Society and is represented by Purdy Hicks Gallery in London, UK.
SELF AND NATURE
Derges' work revolves around the creation of visual metaphors exploring the relationship between the self and nature. Her aim is to capture the visible and invisible processes - the physical appearance of sound vibration, the cycles of the moon and the evolution of frogspawn.
She is best known for her pioneering technique of capturing the continuous movement of water. She achieves this by immersing photographic paper directly into rivers or shorelines. She often creates at night, working by the light of the moon and a hand-held torch to directly expose images onto light sensitive paper.
“This is essentially more about print-making rather than photography,” she has said. “I'm painting with light—or least, that's the way it feels to me.”
For over four decades she has consistently found new ways to express her personal thoughts and ideas concerning the relationship between photography, water, and the environment.
VIEW PETER GABRIEL UP BY SUSAN DERGES
