Emily Schiffer

Informations about the artist

These images depict my relationships with children on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota, where I founded a photography program and have taught since 2005.
My students and I photograph together, sharing our images while they're still in the viewfinder, and operating as both subjects and photographers. Our favorite locations are the fields and abandoned buildings on the fringes of town, forgotten places thick with the past that lend themselves to textured photographs and imaginary games.
Children have a unique ability to hold raw love and joy alongside pain. I aspire to convey that complexity in my images. Having grown up on the prairie, my students accept the massive sky, textured clouds, and deserted barns. Unconsciously and overtly they own their environment, playing with a confidence that embraces the land's harshness and beauty.