Susan Derges‘ new work is a continuation of her interest in shorelines and inter-tidal zones – rich in both the marine life inhabiting them and the metaphors they offer up for exploration, particularly in the craggy bays of the North Devon coast, where many of these images were sourced. The low tides leave behind rock pools that are colourful jewels, full of life and yet very fragile and on the edge of vast forces driven ultimately by the cycles of the moon and the seasons. In this sense they are a microcosm for ourselves and our world.
“Over aeons grey rocks have been carved out by the eddies swirling in on powerful tides to form silent, salt water pools; shining gems lined with pink coralline, reflecting the vast rhythms of the cosmos above. The sun sets, the moon rises, the sea swells and engulfs or withdraws, sustaining these miniature worlds of the intertidal zone. Transient, fragile, colourfully populated dwelling places; sites of memory, continual visiting and contemplating, thought suspended as awareness merges with the water and integrates is own reflection.” – Susan Derges
The exhibition includes archival digital c-type prints produced using our Lambda C-type printing service.
About Susan Derges:
Susan Derges (born London, 1955) studied painting at Chelsea School of Art and The Slade School of Fine Art, London. From 1980 she lived and worked in Japan, returning to Britain in 1986, bringing with her the ‘camera-less’ photographic techniques for which she has become internationally renowned.
Her work can be found in public collections worldwide including The Victoria & Albert Museum, London (where she was shown in the major exhibition `Shadow Catchers’ 2010-11), The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Solo exhibitions include The Photographer’s Gallery, London; Musée de l’Elyseé, Lausanne; Museum of the History of Science, Oxford. Numerous group shows include The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Huis Marseille, Netherlands; Palais de Tokyo, Paris (Prix Pictet 2008).
In 2014 she was awarded Honorary Fellowship of The Royal Photographic Society. Visiting Professor in the Department of Photography at the University of Plymouth, Susan Derges lives and works on Dartmoor, Devon.
Susan Derges ‘Under the Moon’
20 November – 22 December 2015
Purdy Hicks Gallery,
65 Hopton Street,
London,
SE1 9GZ.
Learn more about the exhibition here.