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I create the conditions for people to feel something.

Underwater the conditions are already there. The water takes the weight. There is nothing left to hold up, and a person stops arranging themselves. That is the moment I photograph.

On land it takes longer. It still comes.

Whatever I make now starts the same way. I set the conditions first.

Rahshia Sawyer - Somatic Underwater Photographer

HI, I'M RAHSHIA

& My Studio is Underwater.

I knew it the first time I dove in, over a decade ago. Underwater is where I make the work that still leaves me in awe.

My photographs have been shown from Berlin to Barcelona. They are held in the collections of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the François Schneider Foundation. I am a creative. I always have been.

Lately my work is widening into more than photography. I have something to say, and I am learning how to say it.

Exhibiting since 2004 · Series Winner, Julia Margaret Cameron Award · Contemporary Talent, François Schneider Foundation · Berlin Foto Biennale
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From the Archive

We Are Not Made Of Wood

The form is neither rising nor falling. It is awkwardly in between.

An attempt to photograph the strength it takes to be helpless and out of control.

The title is Van Gogh’s, from a letter he wrote in 1889. The series was awarded Contemporary Talent 2012 by the François Schneider Foundation.

 

View the series

We Are Not Made Of Wood

From the series We Are Not Made Of Wood From the series We Are Not Made Of Wood

The form is neither rising nor falling. It is awkwardly in between.

An attempt to photograph the strength it takes to be helpless and out of control.

The title is Van Gogh's, from a letter he wrote in 1889. The series was awarded Contemporary Talent 2012 by the François Schneider Foundation.

View the series

Being Seen

I love her, and I like her.

Thank you! I don’t know how you did it - I felt seen and acknowledged for who I am. I have never ever before in my life seen pictures of me that are so true to who I am. Photographs I look at and can actually say, “I love her, and I like her. Yeah, she’s got some flaws, and she’s got some secrets. But you know what? She’s alright. She has a light in her to share with the world." JOANNA, 2023

A totally different light.

The photos are breathtaking! The natural beauty has me see myself in a totally different light. Thank you for helping me on my journey on capturing more of who I am. SAM, 2023

I can now see her.

An underwater photo sounded fun. I wanted to try something different. I was going through a separation and some other intense things. I found myself sharing all of it with Rahshia. I felt she really understood. The photo she created made me cry. I saw the powerful woman I feel inside me ... I can now see her. I had no idea how much a single photo changed me. JAMIE, 2022

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You are on the list.

The next one goes out when there is something ready. If you told me what you are making, I will read it.

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Letters from the Forge
When something is ready, I share what is coming out of the studio. Sometimes a photograph. Sometimes writing. Sometimes something I do not have a name for yet.

Some of it is finished and some of it is still in the middle.

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You are on the list

You are on the list.

The next one goes out when there is something ready. If you told me what you are making, I will read it.

View Submission
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