Artist Bio

Deb Achak (b.1968) is a Seattle-based visual artist and storyteller whose work explores the metaphysical and emotional link between the human and natural world. She creates large-scale color photographs that explore what is under the surface in each of us. Achak received a BA in Literature from the University of New Hampshire and holds a Master's degree in Social Work from the University of Washington.

Achak’s work has been exhibited widely including more than 40 exhibitions in institutions such as The National Museum of Anthropology in Tabasco, Mexico, The Lishui Museum of Art in Lishui, China, and The Sofia Photography Festival in Sofia, Bulgaria. Within the United States, Achak has exhibited at Winston Wächter Fine Art, Seattle; Artspace Gallery, New York, NY; The Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts, Providence, RI; Southeast Center for Photography, Greenville SC; and the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops, Santa Fe, NM, among many others. In addition, her work has been featured in numerous publications including Fraction, All About Photo, Lenscratch, Destig, Luxe Interiors, Dodho, Domino, and the 2021 release of The Women’s Street Photographers book.

Achak’s work is represented by Winston Wächter Fine Art, Seattle and New York.

Deb Achak lives and works in Seattle, WA with her husband and two sons in a grand old home that was once a bed and breakfast.

Artist Statement

After stepping away from a 15-year career as a mental health social worker, I began my photography practice in 2012, employing a visual medium to continue my exploration of the interior lives of myself and others. Hungry and curious to examine the notion of our internal selves, I lean into the elasticity of photography by employing several genres within the medium. My practice includes swimming with my camera in locations worldwide, personal narratives created near my home, and painterly abstract florals inspired by baroque paintings. Each body of work is made with the singular ideal, to wrestle with what is under the surface in each of us.