ARTIST STATEMENT

S t e p h a n i e S t r o m


Through my work I seek to engage the viewer towards an intimate experience; a contemplative exploration of both solitude and spirit.

My work is rich in ancient and personal symbolism. I choose quiet, solitary subjects to photograph with the aim to invoke a desire for closer inspection, the potential for stillness, a moment of reflection. I use repetitive imagery to invoke a type of visual mantra, creating an opportunity to lead the witness deeper into themselves.

Iím fascinated by light, both as energy and as a metaphor.

I like to take familiar images, manipulate them and create an opportunity for them to be seen in a different way. For example, I became fascinated with chandeliers when it struck me how they look like x-rays of the skeleton of strange creatures, or odd specimens under a looking glass. They each have very distinct personalities.

The doorway, I see as a metaphor for life. Doorways and passages represent to me the choices we are constantly making. They represent the crossroads in our lives; the places we enter, the places we leave and the places we never go. Before the doorways I invite the viewer to question the concept of destiny and the power of free will.


Stephanie Strom
March 2007
Bohemia Gallery
Ashland Oregon