Exchange Edit: Susana Raab by fokus (pool olortiga)

Exchange edit is a series in which two photographers select images from the various bodies of work of the other photographer and then sequence them to form a new edit.

Today we present the work of Susana Raab edited and sequenced by fokus (pool olortiga) of the street photography collective LimaFotoLibre. Tomorrow we will publish the work of fokus edited and sequenced by Raab.

Susana Raab was born in Lima, Peru and raised throughout the United States. She is a fine art and documentary photographer working in Washington, DC, creating personal work in addition to working as the photographer of the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, documenting the East of the River communities in DC.

The heart of her work is a search for the quotidian, archetypical and ordinary: man’s relationship with his environment, identity within that construct, and transcendence or evolution. Susana’s work has been exhibited internationally and nationally, at venues including: the Corcoran Museum of Art, the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo in Madrid, the Pingyao Photo Festival, Noorderlicht Fotofestival in the Netherlands and the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, DC.

A statement by Raab on her photography follows the edit.

fokus (pool olortiga) was born in Lima, Peru in 1980. He writes, "I have dedicated my time to photography since the year 2006 when I started the LimaFotoLibre collective. My interest in photography began in 2000.

Since my beginnings until today, my main interest has been street photography and through LimaFotoLibre I have been developing this interest even more."

This post was organized by Nataly Castaño.

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Susana Raab statement on her work
The convenience of modern living has allowed us to enjoy unprecedented amounts of leisure time and methods through which to spend that time. "American Idle" explores our modern preference for the marketed moment, the pleasure purveyed.

It began with a set of brochures found in the lobby of a Gainesville, Florida motel. "Visit Jerusalem in Orlando!" was the unlikely announcement on the Holyland Experience's handout. "Step back in time to the dawn of the Middle Ages" offered the Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament. "Be Petty" was the succinct tagline for NASCAR driver Richard Petty's Driving Experience. The exchange of cash for the opportunity to enjoy free time well spent.

I started the project with those venues, and by continuing to photograph festivals, celebrations and events I seek to unravel our modern malaise, one amusement at a time. In the hustle of our lives, leisure time can be as stressful as work. But it does prevent us reflection, from finding a moment's contemplation. The bright lights of the fair can be a darker siren's call. We are lost, wandering through an interminable off-season. The festival is ongoing, but the party is over.