Elisabeth Bernstein

At first glance, images from Elisabeth Bernstein’s “Scape” series (2007-09), presented in lightboxes, appear to depict hazy mountainous landscapes shrouded in veils of cloud and diffuse light. Closer inspection reveals their true nature: Bernstein photographs heaps of paint pigment powder submersed in vessels or spread on tabletops and cast in artificial light, in order to fabricate uncanny “landscapes”. Bernstein is interested in exploring environments and dreamscapes that transcend time and specific space; her images could describe earthly terrain or moonscapes, the dawn of a day or a post-apocalyptic glow. Her photography contains drama as well as serenity, a quality that also permeates her time-lapse images of women sleeping, suspended between motion and stillness, wakefulness and dreams.