Making the Invisible Visual

Annie Grossinger is a documentary photographer, writer, and photo editor in Brooklyn, NY. Her work focuses on long-term visual projects surrounding the carceral system, global health, and the effects of government policy on communities. She’s particularly interested in humanizing complex systems to drive a deeper connection. Most recently, she published a photo book, Serpent Tongue, with Daylight Books.

In 1954, during the height of the Cold War, the CIA carried out a coup to overthrow the first democratically-elected president in Guatemala. In the months leading up to the coup, the CIA Station Chief in Guatemala City was Grossinger's grandfather--a man who died long before she was born, but whose presence loomed like a mythological creature throughout much of her childhood.

Serpent Tongue explores Guatemalan history through the lenses of power, identity and memory. Beginning with the coup--a catalyst event--the book weaves together personal memoirs, archival imagery, and portraits. In this lecture, Grossinger will discuss photographing the invisible, using documents and ephemera in longform visual projects, and mixing family lore with historical memory. Lecture will be followed by a Q&A.

Annie Grossinger is a photo editor and project manager and graduated from Lehigh University with a B.A. in Journalism and History. She was awarded a “Director’s Scholarship” to attend the Documentary Practice & Visual Journalism program at the International Center of Photography (ICP).

Host or Publisher Evanston Art Center