In Elsewhere, Charlotte Schmid-Maybach reimagines the photographic landscape as tactile, layered, and quietly otherworldly.

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Charlotte Schmid-Maybach combines lens-based images with the intimacy of hand stitching, embedding metallic and cotton fibers directly into her prints, turning paper into textured, tapestry-like artworks. A second print on silk gauze, suspended above the surface, introduces a misty veil that softens and enriches the scene. The outcome is a fantastical landscape bridging memory and myth, where trees, folklore, and natural fragments evoke a dreamlike aura. Schmid-Maybach’s detailed interventions blur the line between fact and fiction, encouraging viewers to examine more closely and venture gently beyond what is visible.

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Charlotte Schmid-Maybach: In this ongoing series, Elsewhere, I engage with landscape through an interdisciplinary approach that combines photography and textiles. First, I sew on my prints withfree-motion sewing, like drawing with thread. Sewing lets me get my hands into the photograph, and the coloured metallic and cotton fibres transform the paper into somethingdimensional and textural. The finished pieces feel like tapestry.

I print a second image on silk gauze and layer it over my sewn photographs on Kozo paper. The gauze both deepens the pieces and makes them more ethereal. It’s as ifI’ve found a way to print a layer of fog and add it to my process, which already integrates photography and textile. This misty layer creates a space that only exists in imagination or memory, an interior landscape.

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My intervention blurs the line between what’s real in the photograph and what’s beyond the picture. I’m drawn to themes of nature, myth, fairytale and legend, with a particular focus on trees. The work is intricate and tactile, inviting the viewer to take a closer look.

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My intervention blurs the line between what’s real in the photograph and what’s beyond the picture.

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About

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach is an interdisciplinary artist working with photography, textile and assemblage. Originally from San Francisco, she has a BA in South AsianStudies (UC Berkeley) and an MA in Photojournalism (University of Missouri). Her background as an archaeological photographer in Pakistan and fifteen years as a photojournalist have informed her artwork. Charlotte began studying with artist Tom Wudl in 2016 and transitioned to a full-time studio practice. She was selected for CriticalMass Top 50, 2021 and Klompching Gallery’s FRESH 2023. Charlotte is based in Los Angeles, and her work has been widely shown in galleries and museums.

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www.charlotteschmid-maybach.com