Leslie Norman

Artist Statement / Bio 

"The driving principle in my recent work is to showcase the dynamic relationship between what is beautiful despite the process of decay/disuse (also pointlessness, ancestry/heritage, time+regrets, etc.) Another concept I like to play with is 'parallel universe theory' and space/time in relation to emotion, place, the life/death cycle, and my personal life experience. I am in a pattern of expansion. 

Unable to escape reality, photography is a unique art form: my work tweaks and sometimes exploits that principle by incorporating fringe elements of traditional darkroom printing in compelling ways to form a final image. I would like to point out that although many photographs are manipulated intentionally in some way, everything is done by hand – from loading film to creating finished gelatin silver prints in the darkroom. Many prints are one of a kind.

My work is a bridge into a realm of possibilities beginning to explore the conundrum of existing partially in reality, and slightly somewhere else - closer to something darker, unexpected, and impossible. Surrealism and abstract concepts interest me greatly, as do the passage of time and rituals of everyday life. I invite the viewer to ponder the manifestation and find the significance within.”

-LN

Leslie Norman is an American lens-based visual artist specializing in B/W analog photography. Her work has been shown nationally in galleries and published internationally. She is currently working out of her home darkroom/studio space and teaching photography. She lives in the city of Mount Vernon, Ohio with her husband and two daughters.