Projects

In the series Joshua from the project Conversations with the Sun I use a thermal camera to photograph Joshua trees in the southwestern deserts of the United States. Heat is represented by gradients of black and white, with black representing the hottest temperature, and white representing the coldest temperature. The intent…

In 2020, I thought deeply about how art could make a substantial impact upon the politically- charged global medical crisis. In the ongoing series, Injection Site: Making the Vaccine Visible, I invite viewers to experience a heightened sense of awareness to the physiological effects of the COVID-19 vaccination by traversing…

I work intuitively, merging art and science to investigate the complex relationships between humans and our environment. My ongoing fascination with unseen rhythms of the human body and our interdependence with the natural world are forces that reside at the core of my life and work.   In the series…

Envisioning the Veil investigates the human toll on the environment. I photographed landscapes that reveal places in the natural environment that have offered me a sense of personal sanctuary, but also exist as places of conflict. I also utilized data output from electroencephalogram (EEG) testing of human brains in distress.…

Once Ocean (2015 - 2017) represents the first project in which I utilized diagnostic technology that detects electrical activity within the body, and changes in that activity. Specifically, I began to focus on the wave and grid patterns created by electrocardiogram (EKG), electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional MRI (fMRI) testing. I…

This project documents human life on a scientific and emotional level. Each portrait is captured by resting a camera on the participant’s chest and pointing the camera up to the night sky for a 30-second exposure. Acting like a fingerprint, the unique movement of each person’s breath creates a visual…

By working with medical imagery and photographs of the natural world, the images in COMPLICATED BEAUTY address the fragility of human life and the emotions that impact our daily existence. I rephotograph the actual films of mammograms and combine the breast tissue imagery with my images of familiar landscape. This work…

I grew up in Las Vegas in the 70’s, surrounded by the Mojave Desert. When I was younger, I used to think it was an ugly desert, especially compared to the place my family relocated from, the lush forests and sand dunes in Indiana. The Mojave Desert, by default, became…

Thermal technology is typically used for surveillance and detection of chemical, biological, radiation, nuclear and explosive materials. In contrast, these thermal photographs animate living beings. Heat on the surface of skin is seen as patterns, textures and tonal contrasts, emphasizing our biological commonalities such as breath, sweat, inflammation and the…

Alterwitz’s immersive public installation experience that took place during the Las Vegas art and music festival Life is Beautiful 2014 sheds light on the beauty and fear that complicate human lives and the search for solid ground. Through photography, she embraces science and technology to expose the fragility of our…

Alterwitz embraces science and technology with art and nature by pushing their boundaries in content and execution. Her long-term project entitled While I Am Still combines the visual languages of art and science to create dreamscapes of the invisible body. Alterwitz chooses elements that originate as medical imagery, selected for…

Each photograph is created using canine medical imagery. Bone, muscle, internal organs, and foreign devices used to repair their bodies, such as plastic sutures, metal screws and plates hidden below the skin, are uncovered. Some photographs are a direct re-photographing of a section of one radiograph, while others include multiple…

The photographs in the series “Discarded Dreams” combine medical research with the natural environment. The imagery derived from medical research such as x-rays and MRI  cannot be seen without the aid of technology. In contrast, photographic images of landscape provide a different type of information: that which is attainable, familiar,…