Stephen Chalmers spent his residency working on his new series, Dump Sites. Chalmers uses Freedom of Information searches of police reports, along with crime scene photographs, prosecutor reports, and true crime novels to research the locations where serial killers in the western states have disposed of their victims’ bodies. Using this information in conjunction with mapping software, Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, and Google Maps, he pinpoints and then visits these psychologically charged locations, called “Dump Sites” by law enforcement authorities. The images he produces contain no iconic signifier that the image in question is the location of a body dump site—other than the title, which only suggests the name and age of the victim.

Stephen Chalmers has a BS in Psychology (Pre-Medical) and also a BA in Photography from the University of Louisville, and an MFA in Cinema and Photography from Southern Illinois University. He has been an emergency medical technician, taught gang-affected children photography, and worked as a counselor to severely emotionally disturbed children. He now lives in Spokane, WA, and is currently a professor of photography and digital media at Washington State University in Pullman. Chalmers has exhibited widely.

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