Absence of Being

Absence of Being is a haunting, intensely personal, yet universal exploration of the subconscious world, which began with Susan Burnstine’s first, highly praised monograph, Within Shadows (2011). Burnstine’s creative journey began at the age of four, when she began to suff er from debilitating night terrors. Each morning, her mother encouraged her to try to neutralise the frightening images by reinterpreting them into some positive form of art. The process allowed her to hold this paralysing unconscious world at bay. Burnstine’s night terrors have continued, with varying degrees of frequency and intensity, to this day. However, rather than let them define her life, Burnstine has chosen to let them define her art. Building on the childhood coping skill fostered by her mother, she now finds and captures images that psychologically purge her dreams and better allow her to experience reality. Finding no existing camera that could create what her mind envisioned, Burnstine began to build her own until she arrived at the prototype for the handmade cameras she continues to use. The results are instantly recognisable, dreamlike images, which have been described as 21st century Impressionism, and which speak directly to the viewer’s subconscious.