NATALIE CHRISTENSEN ARTIST STATEMENT 

Shadows and psychological metaphors are favored photographic subjects for me.
My work as a psychotherapist for over 25 years called upon me to explore what is
hidden from view, those aspects of the self or the environment that we want to
turn away from or simply avoid. I was particularly influenced by the work of depth
psychologist Carl Jung and his exploration of the unconscious.

My interest is in investigating the more banal peripheral landscapes that often go
unnoticed by the casual observer. The places I frequent for my images are probably
not what people visualize when they think of the city I live in, Santa Fe, a major
tourist destination with a carefully cultivated image. I choose to shoot in locations
that may be viewed as uninteresting or even visually off-putting. Closed and open
doors, empty parking lots and forgotten swimming pools draw me into a scene; yet
it is my reactions to these objects and spaces that elicit interpretation and
projection. This is exciting and challenging for me, to “see” something hiding in
plain sight. The symbols and spaces in my images are an invitation to explore a rich
world concealed from consciousness and an enticement to contemplate narratives
that have no remarkable life yet tap into something deeply familiar to our
experience; often disturbing, sometimes amusing…unquestionably present.

In Santa Fe, my work is inspired by commonplace architecture and streetscapes. I
shoot every day and am almost never without my camera. I do not have to go
anywhere special to make my photography; instead I find my images around
shopping centers, apartment complexes and office parks. I dismantle these scenes,
distilled down to color fields, geometry and shadow.

It is our nature to ignore what is unpleasant, but sometimes I get a glimpse of the
sublime in these ordinary places. When I find it, it feels like I have discovered gold.