Photography by Elspeth Diederix

lspeth Diederix is an artist who is always on the move. Travelling for her is a way of life. Even though most of her photographs are taken in exotic locations, evidence of this is seldom found in her work. Purposefully she herself remains on the outside. Instead of being absorbed by the setting of her subject, she prefers to maintain a high degree of detachment. This enables her to create a sense of alienation and in her photographs she achieves this by stripping everyday objects of what normally one takes for granted. There comes a moment when everyday objects lose their sense of familiarity, acquire another meaning and seem to become almost abstract. Such moments are used by Elspeth Diederix as a starting point for her images.


Diederix started at the art academy by studying painting and sculpture but soon tried her hand at photography, which she found to be a more effective way of expressing her ideas. Diederix deliberately abstains from the use of digital manipulation techniques but instead in her photographs special effects are achieved by manual intervention. Effects such as optical illusion, false perspective, the mixing of colours and forms, are elements inherent to the art of painting and are applied by her in the creation of the photographic image.

Diederix is playful and inventive in her visualisation of images but strict and almost mathematical in constructing her compositions. Even though her photographs may give the impression that they are brought about by chance, they are in fact staged to an extreme degree. A plastic bag may become a flower, a plastic bottle part of a classical still life. Is a motorbike still a motorbike when it has been covered all over with pink pigment? And what is the meaning of a “post-it” label on the trunk of a solitary tree in a snow covered landscape?