bio

Sal Taylor Kydd is a photographic artist and writer whose work interweaves photography, poetry, and alternative processes to explore memory, belonging, and the passage of time. Drawing from personal narrative and a deep attentiveness to place, her practice moves fluidly between the visual and the literary.

Her photographs have been exhibited widely across the United States and internationally, most recently in an exhibition at the Datz Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, curated by Sangyon Joo of Datz Press. Her work has appeared in Don't Take Pictures, Lenscratch, Diffusion Annual, and The Hand Magazine, among other publications.

Taylor Kydd is the author of several artist books, works that weave her poetry into her photographic practice, that are held in collections including the Getty Museum, Bowdoin College, and the Peabody Essex Museum. Her most recent book, In the Midday Silver, an exploration of grief and loss, is forthcoming from Datz Press in summer 2026. In 2024, she was named a finalist in the Critical Mass photography competition.

Originally from the UK, she holds a BA in Modern Languages from the University of Manchester and an MFA in Photography from Maine Media College. She lives and works on the coast of Maine.

Contact

Contact me by email sal@saltaylorkydd.com if you have an inquiry or just want to reach out :)

Artist Statement

My practice combines photography and poetry to create layered narratives that move between the vivid, fleeting moments of the present and the lasting imprints of the past. By blending two forms of expression: visual and literary, I explore how memory shapes identity and how our sense of place anchors our story.

Photography is a way of making our memories tangible, allowing us to revisit them in our search for understanding. The book and the photographic object extend this: they are tactile, intimate forms that slow the viewer down, enabling deeper reflection. Similar to memory, the book form presents lucid sequences, fragmentary yet narrative. Assemblage is a form of restoration, an excavation of personal archeology.  Poetry, working in tandem, adds another layer of resonance. Like photography it evokes the language of metaphor to connect us to deeper meaning.  All these mediums invite a slow, contemplative engagement with themes of memory and belonging.

I am drawn to the objects and artifacts we surround ourselves with, items that hold memories and act as emblems of our personal histories, marking the passage of time. By repurposing objects alongside my own photographs, found images, and excerpts of poetry, I interrogate and reframe their stories - crafting new meaning from reassembled ephemera.

Working across a variety of mediums: assemblage, the book form, and alternative photography,  I am drawn consistently to work where the hand of the artist is an integral part of the process. The physical act of making: manipulating images, objects, and words, grounds me in the process of understanding. offering a tactile way to navigate these themes.

C.v.

  • May/June - From the Ground Up, Page Gallery, Rockport
    June/July - Midday Silver, Page Gallery, Rockport, ME
    November - Midday Silver, Paris.

  • 2026 Elegy of Beauty, Datz Museum, South Korea.
    2025 Botanicals, Page Gallery, Camden, ME
    2025 Heard, Parsonage Gallery, Searsport, ME.
    2024, Janus Rising - Photographic Gallery, SMA - San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
    2024, Crossings, Exhibition and book launch, Page Gallery, Camden ME
    2023, Warner Gallery, St Andrews School, Shanagolden, Baltimore DE
    2023, Maine Museum of Photographic Art, Assemblages, Portland, ME
    2023, Slow Exposures, Janus Rising, Griffin GA.
    2022, Page Gallery, Camden, Touchstones with Dawn Surratt
    2022, Fox Talbot Museum at Lacock Abbey, UK Janus Rising
    2022, Cary Arts Center, NC, Touchstones with Dawn Surratt
    2022, A Smith Gallery, San Antonio, TX, Touchstones with Dawn Surratt
    2021, The Page Gallery, Camden ME, Yesterday.
    2019, The Griffin Museum of Photography, Boston MA, Janus Rising
    2019, Gallery 169,  Los Angeles CA Janus Rising
    2018, Panopticon Gallery, Boston, Recollections
    2018, North Haven Gallery, ME, Winterhaven
    2017, Kingman Gallery, Deer Isle, ME, Hiraeth
    2017 Pho Pa Gallery, Portland ME, Momentary Certainties
    2016, Gallery 169, Los Angeles, CA Origins

  • 2026 - In the Midday Silver, Photo London
    2026, In the Midday Silver, Milan Photo Fair.
    2026, In Light & Shadow - SIMS Contemporary, NYC
    2026, Femina, Gallery 169 Santa Monica
    2025, Mixed Assemblages, Blue Raven Gallery, Rockland
    2025, Elle Persist, Alta Vista Gallery, Paris France
    2025, Move/Movement, Soho Photo Gallery, NYC.
    2025, Milan Photo Fair with Alta Vista Gallery
    2025, Ice House Group Show, Page Gallery, Camden ME.
    2024, Elle est Présente, Alta Vista Gallery, Paris,, France.
    2024, Maine Media Books Arts Anniversary Exhbition
    2024, Alternative Processes Members Show, Soho Photo Gallery
    2024, CPA Annual Juried Exhbition, And There I Found Myself Waiting.
    2024, In the Making, Maine Museum of Photographic Art, Portland ME
    2024 Photo | Object, Redux Art Center, Charleston, NC|
    2024 Touching Magic, Atlanta, GA
    2023, Page Gallery, Camden ME, Figures.
    2023, Page Gallery Camden ME, Landscapes
    2023 SMA Gallery San Miguel, MX Gallery Photographers Exhibition
    2023, Page Gallery, Camden ME, Still Lives
    2023, LA Art Fair, Selected Assemblages.
    2022, Pascal Hall Holiday Exhibition, Selected Assemblages.
    2022, Page Gallery, ME Home Exhibition
    2022, Cove St Arts, Portland ME, Maine Media Faculty Show
    2021, Davis Norton Gallery, 12 Annual Photobook Show
    2021 Michael Good Gallery, ME, Book Arts - Structure & Narrative
    2020, Photoplace Gallery, Portraits of Self Isolation
    2019, Bee St, Savannah, GA, Kindred
    2019, UMVA Gallery, Portland, ME, The Way Life Is, 
    2018, CMCA Biennial, Rockland Maine
    2018, The Griffin Museum of Photography, Keepsakes -  Photobook Initiative
    2018, The Image Flow, 3rd Annual Alt Pro Photography Exhibition
    2018, Maine Media Gallery, Rockport ME, Found
    2018, Fresh Start Art Show 2018, Los Angeles
    2017, Soho Gallery, NYC. 13th Annual National Alternative Processes Competition
    2017, Maine Media Gallery, The Door Between, Book Arts & Historic Processes
    2017, Minnesota Center for Book Arts,  Fine Wine & Fine Books
    2017, The Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester MA, 23rd Juried Exhibition
    2017, Pascal Hall, Rockport ME Three Artists - Unspoken
    2017, Fall Line Press, Atlanta GA  Fall Line Fifty Photobooks
    2017, SE Center for Photography, Greenville, SC,  Forsaken

  • 2026, Shortlist - Nikon Emerging Photographer Award, Photo London
    2024, Top 200 Finalist, Critical Mass
    2022, Best Photobook for “Yesterday”, What You Will Remember Annual Review
    2021 Honorable Mention  Julia Margeret Cameron Awards
    2020, Photobook Journal - Most Interesting Books of 2020
    2018, Runner Up, San Francisco Book Festival, Just When I Thought I Had You
    2018, Honorable Mention, Julia Margaret Cameron Alternative Process Awards
    2017, Best Photobooks, 2017, Fall Line Fifty Award  Just When I Thought I Had You
    2014, Jurors Award for  Magic,  A Smith Gallery, Johnson City, TX

  • 2026, In the Midday Silver, published with Datz Press (Ed of 300)
    2024 Crossing. Published by Downeast Books
    2022 A Passing Song produced by Conveyor Books in collaboration with Dawn Surratt (edition of 200)
    2022, Yesterday Collectors Edition (Edition of 5)
    2021, Yesterday, photographs and poems, published with Datz Press (Edition of 200).
    2020, Landfall, photographs and poems, published with Datz Press. (Edition of 100)
    2018, Silver Glinting single folio book (Edition of 10)
    2018, The Call, handmade artist book (Edition of 15)
    2019, A Book of Lumens, handmade artist book (Single edition)
    2019, A Willingness to Believe, handmade artist book (Single edition)
    2018 For Certainty, handmade artist book (Single edition)
    2018, Just When I Thought I Had You, photographs and poems
    2017, Keepsakes, handmade letterpress artist book (Edition of 15)
    2016, Late Love, handmade artist book (Edition of 25)

  • 2026, Datz Museum/Press, Seoul, South Korea
    2024 Nocefresca Residency, Sardinia
    2019 La Macina di San Cresci, Tuscany.

  • 2026, A Sense of Place, The Geography of Inheritance - Maine Media, Rockport ME
    2026, Object Narrative - Griffin Museum, Boston MA
    2025, Exposure Salon, New York, NY.
    2023, Ground Glass Foundation: Sal Taylor Kydd - An Artistic Practice.
    2022, Arctic Tern Bookstore, Works & Process A Conversation
    2022, Chicago Photographic Society - The Art of the Book
    2022, SE Center for Photography with Aline Smithson on the Photobook
    2021, University of New Mexico, NM, “Photopoetry”.
    2021, SUNY Plattsburg, Plattsburgh, NY, visiting artist talk
    2021, Garden Club of America online, “Nature’s Solace”
    2021, Center for Photography, Carmel, CA.  “Photography & The Art of the Book”
    2020, NORDphotography, Norway, “The Art of the Book”
    2020, Maine Media Workshops and College, Rockport, ME, “Landfall” artist talk.

  • 2022, “Yesterday” review in What Will You Remember
    2022, “Touchstones” feature in Shots Magazine.
    2021, “Yesterday” reviewed by Christopher J Johnson of Photo Eye.
    2021 “Landfall”  Thinking About Photography article about Photography & Text
    2021, “Yesterday” review by Douglas Stockdale in Photobook Journal.
    2021 “Yesterday” featured in Best Photo Books - What You Will Remember
    2021 “Yesterday” feature in Artpil Magazine.
    2021 Review of “Yesterday” on the Maine Museum of Art’s Antidote.
    2021 Touchstones Feature on Maine Museum of Photographic Art’s Antidote.
    2021 Diffusion Annual X
    2020 Lenscratch Photographers on Photographers - Sal Taylor Kydd with Dawn Surratt
    2020 Portland Press Herald  Review of Landfall.
    2020 Don’t Take Pictures Landfall Book Review
    2020 Photobook Journal Landfall Review
    2020, What Will You Remember Are the Kids Alright?
    2020,  What Will You Remember Uneventful Days Uneventful Nights
    2019 Lenscratch Feature on Janus Rising.
    2019, Review of Janus Rising at The Griffin in the Boston Globe
    2019, Feature on Kindred in Savannah on Lenscratch.
    2019, Artist Spotlight: Don’t Take Pictures Magazine.    
    2019 Lenscratch feature Kindred Exhibition
    2019, Touch all the Senses with Kindred, Savannah Now
    2019, Kindred Spirits Photo Installation, Savannah Connect
    2019, Feature on Keepsakes in Don’t Take Pictures magazine.
    2019, Featured on Your Daily Photograph
    2019, LA Weekly Meet the Artist Interview
    2018, Wall Street International Magazine Recollections at The Panopticon
    2018, What Will You Remember, Review of Recollections Panopticon Gallery, Boston
    2018, Portland Press Herald, Review of CMCA Biennial 
    2018, Maine Home and Design, Found Objects
    2018, The Hand Issue #19.
    2017, Hawk & Handsaw Batrachomany Wagenaar & Kydd
    2017, Portland Press Herald Two Artists
    2016, Feature Shoot, Return to Photography's Roots
    2016, Diversions LA LA Show Review
    2016, We Choose Art  Artist Interview
    2016, Artful Amphora, Women Around Town
    2016, Silvershotz Magazine, Review
    2016, L’Oeil Magazine Show Review

  • The Lyrical Photograph (Maine Media, The Los Angeles Center of Photography, Santa Fe Workshops)
    Text and Image (NORDphotography, in Norway and Italy)
    Island Perspectives, Maine Media, Rockport, ME
    Creative Retreat, Tuscany, Italy
    Portfolio reviewer - FotoFusion, Palm Beach

  • 2016, Maine Media College, Rockport, ME, MFA in Photography
    1996, New England Institute of Art, Boston, MA, professional diploma in Broadcast Journalism
    1993, Manchester University, England, UK, BA (Hons.) in Modern Languages