Linda Reif: I Am Linda Reif And This Is My Ghetto Show

“For me photography is about observation. It is about seeing and instantly reacting to the world around me. I am not trying to create the perfect picture and i do not need to be in total control. The possibilities of creating a photographic image are being exhausted by using many different recording methods. I have developed a technical language where I produce images with any available device, questioning quality standards. The camera as a magic apparatus is being invalidated. This has led me to also making photograms, chemograms and luminograms, where I entirely skip the recording device and produce the image directly on photographic paper.

I shoot a lot of images, stills and video. Sometimes films and jpegs stay undeveloped or unprinted for a long time until they suddenly make sense and I make a selection. It can take months until I do that. This is something very significant about my working process. The act of taking the photograph is a quick gesture, but I take as long as it needs for the process of choice.”

(Linda Reif, November 2012)