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"At the Root of Elsewhere" by Val Gleason
20 x 30 inches
Archival pigment print (digital photography)
$375
Artist Statement:
This work explores descent as both a physical and psychological passage. Drawing on folklore and surreal narrative, I use costuming, landscape, and symbolic light to construct liminal spaces where identity becomes unstable. The masked figure operates as both traveler and witness, moving through thresholds between the familiar and the unknown. Rather than framing “the rabbit hole” as escapism, I approach it as an inward journey—one marked by vulnerability, curiosity, and quiet resilience. My practice centers on creating visual mythologies that examine how women navigate uncertainty, transformation, and self-authorship within imagined worlds.
About the Artist:
Val Gleason is a conceptual portrait photographer based in Washington State. Her work explores themes of transformation, femininity, mythology, and liminality through staged narrative imagery and atmospheric environments. Drawing on folklore, ritual symbolism, and natural landscapes, she creates immersive visual worlds that examine identity, resilience, and self-authorship. Her practice centers on collaborative portraiture and careful world-building, using the body as a site of emotional and psychological storytelling. Through cinematic lighting and moody compositions, Gleason invites viewers into quiet, contemplative spaces where vulnerability and power coexist.