• Paper Size: 13×19 inches
• Image Size: 11×17 inches
• Archival inkjet print

  The Secret Garden of Lily LaPalma is a series of photographs made in the shadows of a dark side of me that, as of late, I have begun to re-explore. Without meaning to make them so, these photographs reveal my fears and private memories, all the things that are wrapped up in a human life. In The Garden there is danger and beauty in a wild jungle that grows unfettered. The photographs are a documentation of my subconscious and imagination, often posing as something entirely unrelated and recognised only by me. They are created spur of the moment. I go from the gut. I dont want them to be perfect because reality isnt perfect; its messy, and the imperfection of these spontaneous moments reflects what Im after.The Garden is where I am the maiden standing on the hilltop, the wind blowing through my hair as I wait for the ships bearing treasures to roll in on the waves. I am the wild horse running across an open plain without borders. I am the witness to dark and mysterious things. I have let loose a part of me, joyously rebelling against the tyranny of the documentary photography that has described me for decades and against how I am perceived as an artist. I call upon all those things I loved growing up alone: mysteries, b-grade horror films, science fiction, the noir and sensuous forbidden ideas, anything that smacked of surreallity, mystery, intrigue, beauty, danger, and outer space. All these ideas have converged and landed me here in the Secret Garden of Lily LaPalma.Maggie Steber

To view more of Maggie’s work, visit herwebsite.