Griffin Museum of Photography 67 Shore Road 01890 Winchester Royaume-Uni
When Karen Glaser received a little yellow instamatic waterproof camera for her birthday in 1983, she was inspired to take photographs in and around water. It turned out to be a fascination that's lasted more than 25 years.
At first, she shot black-and-white underwater photos of children playing in pools. Then she began photographing in open waters such as rivers, springs, swamps, and oceans.
Dark Sharks/Light Rays, two complementary series of her photographs, are featured in the Main Gallery of the Griffin Museum of Photography.
"I shot black and white at first, and then color, using only natural light as it graced and veiled the watery landscapes," says Glaser. "The light was always dramatic, reflecting, refracting, and bending through the water. At times it was elegant, and at others foreboding. The photographs were unusual and seductive. They had the power to not only dazzle but also to inform the viewer about strange, unique, and more often than not, endangered ecosystems. It is in this spirit that two complementary series developed: Dark Sharks and Light Rays."
Glaser says sharks and rays have been swimming on the earth for eons and are closely related and prehistoric, as are the waters in which they swim. The locations in the Pacific waters where she shoots are remote, but they are still affected by modern threats including over fishing, illegal fishing, and shark fining. "The shark population is plummeting and rays are following suit," Glaser says. "It is not inconceivable to think they might follow the dinosaur into extinction."
Glaser says her photos are not similar to underwater shots you would see in scuba magazines. "The Dark Sharks are rendered in a way that is kindred to cave paintings," she says, adding "The seas are often roiled and filled with current when the sharks are around."
And she says, "The Light Rays are a counterpoint to the Dark Sharks. Where the Dark Sharks ask the viewer to bear witness to the power and visceral essence of the ocean, the Light Rays, printed like graceful etchings, represent the Zen of the ocean and its peaceful, meditative qualities. But water is forever fickle, so occasionally and unexpectedly the line between the two groups is blurred by the whims of the sea."
"Karen Glaser's Dark Sharks and Light Rays are fragile specimens emerging from a thick and luminous sea," says Paula Tognarelli executive director of the Griffin Museum of Photography. "Together they form a rhythmic interplay of aquatic mystery and timelessness that borders on the abstract."