Elizabeth Eiten

Artist's Statement

I spent summers, holidays, and weekends at my grandmother’s hunting camp in northern Michigan, the Silver Wolf Ranch. My experiences at the hunting camp greatly influence my ideas about nature, rural living, ethics, and spirituality. Now that I live in an urban area, I can examine my childhood experiences more clearly.
In my photographs, I’ve always used animals and objects to tell stories. Using dead animals allows me to manipulate them so I can communicate a message. I work from my deepest instincts and feelings and this forces me to confront what I fear. Though they are based on my childhood memories, I am gratified when people can project their own stories onto the images. I want viewers to go beyond the surface level of my photographs. Making truthful images is not easy or difficult, but it is terrifying.