Susana I. Espana is a Spanish-born visual artist, photographer, and collector based in Bremen, Germany, whose work has been exhibited across Europe, England, Turkey, and the USA. Her artistic practice examines the intersection between domestic space and the internal landscape of memory.

Characterized by an intimate search for the "little things" of everyday life, Espana imbues her images with emotional weight through a masterful use of color and light. For over two decades, she has explored themes of belonging and the concept of 'home,' documenting her immediate surroundings, the growing lives of her children, and her personal archives.  Espana views the domestic sphere not merely as a setting, but as a sanctuary for poetic inquiry, where the presence of her family serves as a living testimony to the passage of time.

She describes her process as an 'excavation and reconstruction' of memory. Whether through intimate portraits of her children or her own self-portraiture, the physical act of manipulating the image (layer upon layer), becomes a metaphor for personal metamorphosis.

In recent years, her work has evolved toward an "alchemy of materials," integrating collage, mixed media, and tactile interventions such as embroidery and ink bleeds. For her, collage is not only therapeutic but a way to "create a temporal depth that a lens alone cannot capture."

For a decade, Espana has also compiled anonymous photographs found in markets and private archives, drawn to these "memories frozen in time" that share a universal language. In her own words, this process seeks to transform the personal into a collective narrative: "My own body becomes a map where time and experience leave their mark."

 

Education 

1993-1999 BSc (Hons) Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain.

2001-2002 Studies in Restoration of Art, (CEROA), Madrid, Spain.

2003-2004 Studies in Photography (EFTI), Madrid, Spain.

2006-2008 Master of Arts in Photography, London College of Communication, UK.

 

Solo Exhibitions

2024 “Poetics of Dwelling”, Atelier Laforest, Robert Munford Archive, Dennysville, Maine (USA)

 

Group Exhibitions and Festivals

2025 Cluster Photography & Print Fair “Metamorphosis”, Unlocked Shoreditch, London (U.K)

2025  The 22nd Julia Margaret Cameron Awards for women photographers, Honorable Mention, Fotonostrum Gallery, Barcelona ,Spain.

2018 International Festival of Photography, Chania, Greece.

2007 MA Final Show, The Galleries, London College of Communication, London (UK).

2007 ENTREFOTOS, Centro Cultural Conde Duque, Madrid, Spain.

2007 SANDBLAST Festival, Richmix Gallery Space, Photomonth, London(UK).

2007 Festival of Photography 4 UFAT (Uludağ Üniversitesi Fotoğraf Amatörleri Topluluğu), Bursa, Turkey.

2007 Amnesty International, International Women's Day, London, UK.

2004 Festival 'OFF' PHOTOESPAÑA 04, Galería EFTI, Madrid, Spain.

2004 'De tal Palo tal astilla', Tarazona, Spain. 

 

Publications

2026 5×7 Photobook Vol.2, Curated by Zach Dobson. Artsin Square Publication.

2026 ARTDOC Photography Magazine Issue #1/26 - Interview: "The Relationship between Space and Remembrance"

 

Various 

2007-2009 Portraits for the Architecture Magazin Xcepto, Madrid, Spain.

2006-2007 Workshop "On The Road" by Nikos Ekonomopoulos (Magnum Photographer).

2007 Acquisition "More than Thirty Years" for the University of the Arts, Permanent Collection, London, UK.

2004 Acquisition "Con mi presencia" (With my own presence) for the Arts Council Permanent Collection, Tarazona, Spain.

 

© Susana I. Espana

All images on this site are protected by the international copyright laws and are exclusive property of Susana Espana. Images may not be copied, published, reproduced, projected, manipulated, used or altered in any way without written permission from Susana Espana. The use of any photography as the basis of another photographic concept or illustration is a violation of copyright.