Sussman is currently developing new installation work deepening her explorations of personal and cosmic time, the universe, nature, philosophy, and beauty. She spent a decade developing the critically acclaimed project “The Oldest Living Things in the World,” for which she researches, works with biologists, and travels all over the world to photograph continuously living organisms 2000 years old and older. Sussman's art practice really came into focus, however, after a serendipitous moment during a trip to Japan. Days away from deciding to fly home early, she found herself on a remote Japanese island, photographing a 7,000-year-old tree. About a year later, Sussman launched the Oldest Living Things in the World project, a series that has since taken her all over the world to photograph everything from 3,000-year-old lichen to a 9,550-year-old spruce to an 80,000-year-old colony of aspen trees. Rachel will be coming to talk about her work and her ongoing projects.

"This series is co-curated by Temple Contemporary, Temple University’s Office of Sustainability, and Temple University Libraries, along with faculty and graduate students from the Tyler School of Art, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Center for the Cinematic and Performing Arts.​"

Support for this series provided by the Department of Planning and Community Design in Tyler School of Art’s Division of Architecture and Environmental Design, the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, Advocacy and Leadership, the General Education Program, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, the Philadelphia Orchard Project, the Jewish Farm School, the Feinstein Center for American Jewish History, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, TreePhilly, Village of Arts and Humanities, Asociación de Puertorriqueños en Marcha, the Photography Program at Tyler School of Art, the New Kensington Community Development Corporation, The Humane League, Philadelphia Zoo, and Audubon Society.​