Constance J Head

"A Bizarre Light Came Over the Campus", high speed infrared film/ computer enhanced (29" x 23"), 1999

As a child, Constance Head underwent numerous surgeries. During her spare time she spent many hours copying anatomical drawings from her uncles medical textbooks. She continued her art education at Rochester Institute of Technology with a major in photographic illustration with a minor in printmaking.

In 1986, Head was introduced to computer-based graphic design and generated an income, yet this profession caused her to lack the extra energy needed to pursue her photography. In 1997, she was laid off from her job after being diagnosed with post-polio syndrome and attention deficit disorder.

"In an effort to conform with my doctor's wishes for me to change my lifestyle I did not look for more publishing work, but applied for social security disability and headed for the darkroom to keep from going stir crazy. I shoot from my truck whenever possible; also from my wheelchair and once in a while on my crutches. It is increasingly a frightening thing to behold me in a field with really expensive cameras teetering on the brink of a big rock wondering if I'll have the energy to get back to the truck."

The physical effort and pain of doing what used to come naturally in the darkroom has led Head to integrate her photography with her computer background. Photography has also allowed her to work in a space that has always been the easiest to maintain her concentration: the darkroom.