Dafna Steinberg is an interdisciplinary artist, whose current focus of her practice is photography and hand-cut collage that utilizes paper ephemera and found objects. Her work deals with feminist and identity issues. Originally from Washington, DC, Steinberg holds a BA in Photography from Hampshire College and an MA in Photography and Urban Studies from Goldsmiths, University of London. She also has a certificate in General Studies from the International Center of Photography. She currently resides in Philadelphia, PA where she is in her first year of the MFA in Socially Engaged Studio Art at Moore College of Art and Design.

Statement

Two weeks before he died on March 4, 2020, my father asked me to teach him how to make a collage. He told me that he loved watching me cut up magazines and create new pictures with the pieces I had found. He didn’t think he would be able to do it, but he really wanted to try. I have been working as an artist for over 15 years. My parents have been avid supporters of my career. They came to so many of my exhibitions, sat through so many of my artist talks. But never had my dad asked me to show him how I actually made my work.

Most of these works were made after his death, while I was sheltering in place (due to the COVID19 pandemic) in my childhood home. These collages are about the sudden feeling of social disconnection, as well as the experience of living with grief during a pandemic. Many of them were inspired by the night I taught my dad how to collage. He has always been and continues to be one of my greatest muses. Teaching him how to make a piece of art was a beautiful gift for which I am forever grateful.

www.dafnasteinberg.com