Joan Fitzsimmons, The Woods, 1/1, 2025, Hand-toned Gelatin Silver Prints with Applied Photographic Bleach Toners and Inks, 12'6 x 5'1 inches

Joan Fitzsimmons' practice spans more than 40 years. Her photographic work examines the quotidian. Working with incidental observations and materials of daily life, she constructs images for the camera and photograms. The scale varies from intimate inkjet prints to large-scale gelatin silver collages.

The Woods is my personal reflection on landscape. I bring to it warnings of potential danger and a sense of fantasy. With this series, I have responded to the scale of the woods, and its depth, by augmenting the scale of my medium, creating a loose collage that considers the linear dynamics of spare winter branches, constructing an interior space that was embracing, yet claustrophobic. The resulting photos also referenced abstract painting. I continue to address the same fears and fantasy, but additional thoughts on the current state of the environment, the socio-political currents, work their dark magic.