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Susan Grant: CJL 2017 Finalist

SUSAN GRANT: CJL 2017 Finalist
Dallas, Texas

This work is created by casting shadows of models and props on a 12-foot backdrop using a 4×5 view camera with a digital back. I create sets, then invite models in and intuitively direct them through a series of gestures and poses to finalize the narratives.

These works use the shadow as metaphor to explore dreams and memory. As triptychs, the newest work, envisions multiple states of consciousness. By locating a central fabricated narrative between images from reality, I am interested in dialogs that connect reality with fiction and suggest questions as to which is real.


The Clarence John Laughlin Award annually grants one $5000 prize and an exhibition in the NOPA gallery to a photographer whose work exhibits sustained artistic excellence and creative vision.

The 2017 award finalists are: Marina Font (Miami Beach, FL), Susan Grant (Dallas, TX), Cig Harvey (Rockport, ME), Letitia Huckaby (Benbrook, TX), Jennifer Schlesinger (Santa Fe, NM), Tara Sellios (South Boston, MA), Elizabeth Stone (Greenough, MT), Jerry Takigawa (Monteray, CA), Maggie Taylor (Gainesville, FL), Anna Tomczak (Lake Helen, FL)