Rachelle Bussières

Lives and works in New York, NY

Artist statement

My work explores how light, time, and photographic materials shape our perception and experience of the natural world. Moving beyond photography's traditional role of capturing and representing the world, I ask instead what might emerge when an image is formed by time, environment, and material itself. Working primarily with black-and-white silver gelatin paper, I make camera-less works through gesture, duration, and environmental exposure. Rather than treating light as illumination, I approach it as a physical force that acts upon the paper over time. Working in near darkness, I fold, mask, roll, and expose the paper to light—sometimes for seconds, sometimes for weeks. In the studio, I explore the limits of its light-sensitive surface through gesture and repetition; at other times, I expose the paper outdoors in rivers, forests, and mountains, allowing the light and atmosphere of each place to become part of what the paper records. Only later, in a fixer bath, without the use of developer, does the final imprint become visible for the first time. Luminous blues, violets, pinks, and warm beiges emerge from the paper's chemistry, color not applied but revealed through time and exposure. Moving between photography, works on paper, and installation, I create pieces that function less as representations of a fixed moment than as encounters with time and light. Photography becomes less a means of capturing what is in front of me and more a way of receiving what is already...

Artwork