ABOUT CHLOE SIMMA-MARTIN

I am currently a photographer and printmaker receiving my Masters of Art at Indiana State University. As a photographer my interests naturally lie in the world around me. My work takes a stoic look at the mundane features of the natural world. Placing my subjects in a quiet atmosphere allows me to highlight qualities of both texture and shape. While formalist ideals are present within my works, I additionally include more intellectual components. Most often, I create an idea of collision between my subjects, for instance, the battle between the natural and un-natural. Using strictly analog photographic methods I am able to accentuate tonal range through all my images. The importance of tone within my imagery has most recently brought me into the world of photo-polymer gravure. With this process of printmaking I work less with the chemical reactions of the darkroom, but instead focus my efforts to the creation of a photographic intaglio print. In short, photo-polymer gravure is a process in which a transparency is burned onto a light sensitive polymer plate, creating an etched impression, which can then be printed using standard intaglio techniques. For me photography is much more than simply taking the photo, with the majority of my interest falling on the aspect of process, which is what originally drew me to photo-polymer gravure. This process of combining mediums allows me necessary time for reflection, introspection, and continuous learning.