When looking at the beginning of our universe from the time of the big bang, theoretical physicists allow themselves to ponder the unanswerable question of why life exists in the first place. Why is there something rather than nothing?

Artist Dorothy Anderson Wasserman‘s photo collages are informed by ideas like this, concerning the nature of existence from a non-scientific, philosophical point of view. Questions about time, dimensions, gravity, and entanglement have helped fabricate the imagined spaces where these narratives take place. The thin veil between her inner experience and outer life is explored by having seemingly unrelated images commingle to create new connections and relationships. Photo collage is an agile vehicle for this kind of inner storytelling.

For six years Wasserman worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC in their membership department. With her staff card, she had access to the galleries in the building outside of public hours. Wasserman would visit her favorite works as often as possible, spending intimate alone-time in quiet reverence. The photographs she took of these artworks and others from the museum’s permanent collection are integrated into her collages, as well as the sculptures she has made in the past.

Wasserman’s long career in dance contributes to the movement, rhythm, and physical gestures in the work. She bought her first camera in 1968 and has maintained a practice of documenting her life by photographing the people, places, and activities around her ever since. It has long been her desire to create photo books using her extensive archive. On display are the efforts made in this direction.

The collages are exclusively made from Wasserman’s own photographs, which are assembled by hand using scissors and glue. In this exhibition she presents only original work, with archival pigment prints on rag paper available as open editions.