Citizens of the World
My work in fine art photography explores the tension between the natural and the constructed, using organic materials that have been discarded, overlooked, or altered. I collect petals, floral patterns, bits of vegetables, twigs, fragments pulled from compost and reassemble into carefully composed, often spherical forms. These images suggest miniature worlds: dense, layered, and strangely familiar. They can remind us of our own environments.
I think of these compositions as visual ecosystems. Each one carries a sense of individuality while participating in a larger, imagined landscape. Alongside these densely layered pieces, I create minimal floral studies. Simple, stark portraits of single forms. These pared-down images focus on presence and character, treating each botanical subject as a solitary figure, a kind of citizen. - Steven J. Duede