William Sawalich, St. Louis    Born and raised in Southern Illinois, photographer William Sawalich now lives in St. Louis. A longtime student of the medium, he recently completed his master’s degree at the Brooks Institute of photography in Southern California. As much as his photographs are about the subjects depicted, they are about the medium itself. Photography is ironic—full of fact and aberration. It is this relationship between the extremes of concept and physicality that gives a photograph its power.   For his images of Sprawl, he uses his camera to reveal the dichotomy of beauty and tragedy in the most common American spaces. He hopes that these images not only offer surprising harmony, but that they challenge viewers to consider the truth of our most fundamental choices; that where we live and what we consume have tremendous cultural and societal implications.   WEB SITE: www.sawalich.com/personal.htm