Marcus DeSieno

Marcus DeSieno is a lens-based artist from Albany, New York who is based in Ellensburg, Washington. His work explores the longstanding relationship between photography and science and combines classical and contemporary photographic techniques. He is currently an assistant professor of photography at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington.

Early life and education

DeSieno received his Degree in Documentary Studies/Documentary Photography from the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in 2008 and his Bachelor of Arts from Marlboro College, where he focused on Photography, in 2010. He went on to complete his Masters in Fine Arts in Studio Art at the University of South Florida in 2015.

Work

DeSieno’s works include several collections of photographs, including Surveillance Landscapes, Mars, Self-Portraits, Parasites, and Cosmos. DeSieno uses antiquated photographic processes along with contemporary imaging methods to explore how the invention of photography has shaped our perception of nature and the universe around us.

Cosmos Series

To create his works for Cosmos, DeSieno collected various strains of bacteria from public and private places, such as ATM machines, iPhone screens, toilet seats, saliva, and human orifices, and bred them on surfaces of film depicting scenes from outer space originally taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA, and the European Space Agency (ESA). He then scanned the film, killing the microscopic ecosystem, after it had been partially eaten away by the bacteria. Examples of titles of the works in the series include A Photograph of the Reticulum Constellation Eaten by Bacteria Found on My Television’s Remote, A Photograph of the Crab Nebula Eaten by Bacteria Found on a Table at a Red Lobster Restaurant, and A Photograph of the Planet Venus Eaten by Bacteria Found Inside of a Vagina.