Cartons of paper began arriving a couple weeks before December artist-in-residence Priya Kambli made it to Syracuse herself. By the time she arrived, it was quite clear that Kambli would be using her time here at Light Work to complete multiple editions of prints from her series Color Falls Down. (One of these editions will accompany Kambli to the FotoFest reviews in March 2010.) This beautiful work spans multiple divides as the photographer combines old and new family photographs with personally significant objects and textures. Through the use of digital montage, Kambli pieces together different cultures, generations, and identities in the picture plane.

The genesis of Color Falls Down was Kambli’s move from India to the United States thirteen years ago; the series name comes from a popular Hindi movie song. Making these images helped the artist bridge the gap between these very different worlds. Work from the Color Falls Down series has recently been published in Kambli’s first monograph by the same name, which was produced by PhotoLucida as part of their 2006 Critical Mass Book Prize.

Kambli holds a BFA from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette and a MFA from the University of Houston. Her work has been featured in solo exhibitions at the Kansas City Artists Coalition in Kansas City and Living Arts in Tulsa, Oklahoma, among other venues. She has participated in group exhibitions at venues as diverse as Silver Eye Center for Photography in Pittsburgh to the Italien Palatset in Vaxjo, Sweden.

www.priyakambli.com