Suzette Dushi Photography

Faithful Forest (Alberto Rios b.1952) an excerpt

The leaves liked the wind, and went with it.

The trees grew more leaves, but wind took them all.

And then the bare trees were branches, which in their frenzy

Made people think of so many ideas-

Branches were lines on the paper sky,

Drawing shapes on the shifting clouds

Until everyone agreed that they saw horses

"Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky" Kahlil Gibran 1926

The tree is a living organism that closely resembles a human figure. The tree is a living work of art. I am mainly drawn to the anthropomorphic shapes of trees. In Japanese belief, spirits inhabit trees that reach one hundred years of age, that give the tree a personality. I see and feel these personalities. They represent gracefulness, stability, death, new life; they are symbols of resilience, endurance, strength, growth, renewal and the passage of time.

For me trees are just like people, unique and no two are alike and each with their own personality and character. Their complex shapes evoke Egon Schiele’s figural distortions, Degas’ dancers, Gustave Courbet’s nudes or sculptures of warriors of ancient wars.

Time wears upon everything. I photograph discarded, broken and chipped mannequins. The signs of aging on their bodies and faces are significant, yet these peculiarities trigger my empathy. By photographing the mannequins in various locations I create surrealistic tableaus and animate these inanimate objects. I try to distort reality by creating unexpected juxtapositions.

This project for me symbolizes the passage of time. Everything and everyone gets old. Nothing stays perfect. These photographs are manifestations of our fears, vulnerabilities and flaws. They could be interpreted as self-portraiture causing the viewer to self-reflect, accept reality and find beauty within the imperfections of life and in the natural cycle of growth and decay. It’s a surrealistic story of past, present and future.

Wave Hill

A gem in the middle of New York City

The figure in daylight studio is about natural light and the female form as observed by the female gaze.

I started photographing the NYC subway system as an observer of the people. I soon realized that there is so much more to the subway experience than people getting from place to place. From the riders, to the performers, who entertain or annoy us, to the conductors, who make sure things run as smoothly as possible, the subway also reflects a relationship between human and machine. While people find themselves physically sharing the same environment, emotionally they could be miles apart from one another. From the departures to  the arrivals the rides become a kind of poetry in motion.

Through my photographs, I try to explore the dynamics of this relationship while trying to give it a human touch and bring order to this web that is the NYC subway system. I hope the viewer of my work can visually experience this fascinating journey with me as I discover this city within the city

The beach is where I go to relax and wind down. I spend my summers in the east end of Long Island. The beach is a great place for people watching, swimming, surfing and having a picnic while waiting for the beautiful colors of a perfect sunset.

“Phan.tasm” noun

a figment of the imagination; an illusion or apparition; an illusory likeness of something

Starting with my own photographs of “The Mannequins” and using cutouts and snippets from newspapers, magazines, pamphlets or any other found images I create surrealist collages. I start creating tableaus without a conscious idea at first. They are mere fragments of a surreal world created by my subconscious. My collages blend fantasy with reality. Inanimate objects become part of the real world thus creating tension and sometimes discomfort. The characters become actors and invite the viewer to imagine the narrative. I then re-photograph these collages. Sometimes the end product is in color, sometimes in black and white and sometimes the collage becomes a negative creating a more fantastical and strange world. The possibilities are limited only by my own imagination!

Exploring the visual elements of line, shape, texture, color and light I try to capture and transform how I see the cityscape as it is reflected on car hoods. The resulting abstract images create organic shapes, fluid forms and interesting ways of seeing New York City from a unique and different perspective.

The diptychs juxtapose the static structures of New York and the distorted abstractions of buildings. The resulting photographs are a unique blend of abstraction and realism and create a sense of tension and balance between two images.