JUNE 2026
SOUTH GALLERY
Smoked Salmon | Susan Johnson
Living near to the mouth of the Kasilof River provides me with both sustenance and independence. I fish, hunt, and work hard to produce most of my own food, and find that being able to taste Summer’s bounty throughout the cold and dark of Winter makes it worth the effort.
The preserving of the harvest has become an enjoyable seasonal ritual for me, and for the past several years, I have photographed and exhibited two previous bodies of work, 2025’s “Egg Series” and 2023’s “The Fruits of Our Labor”, that celebrated our farm and vegetable crops.
This current photo series is the third visual exploration of living sustainably, focused on the yearly Red Salmon run and the time-honored tradition of smoking fish to preserve the catch. My vision for this work was to concentrate on the details, and rather than using a strictly documentary style, I chose to focus on the strong verticals, bright colors, and differences in light and texture to present a more abstract view of the subject.
The use of a Diptych Format continues in keeping with the theme of previous exhibitions.
Photographs by Hans Hallinen