Libby Saylor is a photographer and mixed media collage artist. Using analog photographic processes whenever possible, she utilizes her original photographic imagery to create small works on paper with Xerox copies of her images, old family photographs, tissue paper, graphite, colored pencil, paint, and other found materials. Her work centers around universal themes of grief, loss, love, memories, and nostalgia, with a particular focus on her relationship with her mother and father. She creates her collages using an emotionally charged image, working intuitively as she conveys feelings associated with the initial image. Her semi-abstract aesthetic draws subtle attention to diminutive details and delicate textures.
Her current Dad series originated from a day trip she took with her father to shoot photographs in Appalachia, Pennsylvania, with no particular focus for a project in mind. They visited three semi-remote locations, and with each spot she felt his protection, support, and care. After developing the film from this day, the images were so overwhelmingly reminiscent of her father, so she began creating this body of work with him in mind. Even though her father is in good health, she knows their time is limited, and this body of work is her way of tangibly capturing, cataloguing, and immortalizing his presence in her life.
She has also taken to sharing each finished Dad collage with him, asking him for a song in response to seeing the image. She then creates daily Instagram posts including the song choice he's offered, playing as a soundtrack for the viewer. This adds another layer of capture, since much of her music taste stems from him, and music has always been such a strong part of his life.
Her current Dad series originated from a day trip she took with her father to shoot photographs in Appalachia, Pennsylvania, with no particular focus for a project in mind. They visited three semi-remote locations, and with each spot she felt his protection, support, and care. After developing the film from this day, the images were so overwhelmingly reminiscent of her father, so she began creating this body of work with him in mind. Even though her father is in good health, she knows their time is limited, and this body of work is her way of tangibly capturing, cataloguing, and immortalizing his presence in her life.
She has also taken to sharing each finished Dad collage with him, asking him for a song in response to seeing the image. She then creates daily Instagram posts including the song choice he's offered, playing as a soundtrack for the viewer. This adds another layer of capture, since much of her music taste stems from him, and music has always been such a strong part of his life.