Syuzan Derdzhes

Susan Derges (b. 1955) Contemporary British photographer. Born in 1955 in London. She studied painting at Chelsea College of Arts (1973–1976) and at the Slade School of Fine Art (1977–1979). From 1981 to 1985, she lived and worked in Japan, pursuing postgraduate research in photography at the University of Tsukuba. In Japan, Derges conducted her first experiments with the photogram – a technique that produces photographic images without a camera; to obtain such an image, objects are placed on light‑sensitive paper, which is then exposed to light. This photographic process would become a defining characteristic of Derges's work. In order to capture the inextricable link between human beings and nature, she often uses the natural environment as an improvised darkroom, immersing light‑sensitive paper in a stream or river and developing images using a flashlight or moonlight. She currently lives and works in Devon, United Kingdom. Her works are held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Victoria and Albert Museum (London), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Hara Museum (Tokyo), and in other museum and private collections worldwide.