Artist Statement
Twenty years into my marriage there was an irreparable rupture that prompted me to ask the big existential questions. It took me on a path devoted to personal and spiritual growth with a dedicated meditation practice. During that time, I sought refuge in nature. I found peace and wisdom in the silence of my awakening heart and mind. That sense of awareness is strong for me in the painterly, expansive landscape of the American West. Foreseeable Cache is an exploration of this journey and represents what meditation feels like to me.
These sublime, abstracted landscapes portray an alternate reality, merging the physical and spiritual realms. Intuitively guided, the dual imagery of in-camera double exposures are a metaphor for the internal and external landscape. A translucent veil symbolizes the chattering mind and external noises, along with the shift into and out of mindfulness. Surreal and artificially colored, each image creates a range of emotional responses from the viewer and hints at the remembrance of the known.
Gallery
About
Debe Arlook is a fine art photographer based in Santa Monica, California. Her projects are influenced by a dedicated meditation and spiritual practice. The work reflects her inward and outward gaze using natural and man-made landscape. Her BA in Film & Media, Minor in Psychology, American University, Washington D.C. and extended studies of reiki and life coaching inform her work.
She is a 2020 Critical Mass 200 Finalist and 2020 Photo LA Top 20 Finalist. Arlook’s work will be the focus of study on Contemporary photography – Precursors of the New American Space, Université de Toulouse II Jean-Jaurès, France, 2022/23. National and international exhibitions of Arlook’s work include Griffin Museum of Photography, MA, Museum of Art & History, CA, California State University, San Diego Art Institute, CA, and Fahle Galerii, Estonia. She’s published in Fraction, L’Oeil de la Photographie, Rangefinder, Shots Magazine, What Will You Remember and others. Debe is a Pasadena Photography Arts advisor, curator and host for FORUM and Open Show events. She’s a contributor and Resource Manager for the Photobook Journal, founder of Arlook Printing Services and the Photographic Artist Tr?b.
Debe transitioned from darkroom to inkjet printing and founded Arlook Printing Services in 2016. She provides project consultation and archival printing for fine art photographers. She is represented by Posner Fine Art , Los Angeles, Ca and VICA, Venice Institute of Contemporary Art, Venice, California.
