Befall, 2023-present
The fallen scraps of tree bark I photograph are delicate and brittle. Each fragment is a unique and intricate map of the tree's life - the patterns, textures and irregularities evidence of the impact of time, weather, insects, and climate change. I use photographic techniques to suggest the passage of time, emphasize abstract form, and extend the changes initiated by environmental forces. Thus, a small fragment of decaying bark becomes expansive, monumental, and powerful. It's worm holes and lichen become crevasses, constellations or vortexes. This work expresses the transformative power of nature and the delicate balance between fragility and resilience, serving as a testament to life, death and regeneration.
Inspired by Anna Atkins' botanical prints from 1843, my cyanotype technique diverges from traditional uses in significant ways. I choose the imperfect over the ideal specimen, photographing the bark to emphasize three-dimensional form, volume, and detail, rather than pressing material flat to produce a photogram. I intentionally move subject matter during long exposures to create motion blur, expressing the passage of time and impermanence. By combining sharp and blurred elements into a composite image, I aim to express the precarious balance between opposing states of existence and the pursuit of equilibrium. I create these images to reckon with transience and loss, recognizing and accepting the fear and allure of transformation.
Limbo, 2020-present
Most people have experienced moments in their lives that were transformative. When in an instant everything you knew and understood went out of control as your world turned upside. Sometimes these moments are very personal the result of an accident, health condition, or the end of a relationship. Or they may be shared more universally - like a natural disaster or global pandemic. The terror and beauty of sudden and irreversible change is the inspiration for Limbo. The humble plants and leaves I photograph are in a state of suspended animation, floating in ambiguous time and space. They appear in groups and pairs to express relationships and suggest a narrative. The juxtapositions within each composition are intended to represent dualities such as presence/absence, permanence/transience, past/present and give visual expression to the space in between. And by stretching the time it takes to cross from one state to another, bring recognition to and acceptance of the delicate balance between dualities.
The subject matter and cyanotype technique I use refer to the tradition of botanical prints dating back to Anna Atkin's work of 1843. Rather than photograph flat and sharply rendered specimens for scientific study, I intentionally distort and blur my subject matter through long exposures and selective focus. In fact, I don't think of the plant material as specimens at all but rather as characters that interact with each other and respond to forces beyond their control.
Peculiar Symbiosis, 2016 - 2019
This series of photomontages in diptych form explore the manipulation and transformation of art historical facts into photographic fiction. I am interested in challenging the traditional masculine gaze of the old master paintings I photograph by dissecting the paintings into small parts and liberating the pieces from their original context. The photographic artifacts can then be re-interpreted, distorted and manipulated to produce alternative narratives.
I use the diptych format to explore the shifting nature of memory and how interpretation of information is altered by gender, context and time. The diptych as a whole offers a narrative that questions and subverts the facts of the original image, while each part a tells a different version of that newly constructed narrative.
I construct my photomontages so they that initially appear to be historic paintings and provoke the viewer to question the medium and veracity of the image. My intention is to create an image that wavers between dualities: painting and photograph, part and whole, reality and fiction, past and present, male and female. Within the open-ended narratives of the pseudo historic images, I hope the viewer recognizes contemporary themes about conflict, anxiety, and identity.
Seductive Deception, 2015 – 2017
As an art history major in college, I studied master works and learned how each one contributed to the visual narrative of a particular style, time period, religion, or culture. I learned that iconic works of art were unique and priceless, to be guarded and venerated like sacred truths. Now I approach those same paintings as a curious photographer, questioning and dissecting them with each exposure. The fractured pieces are manipulated and transformed into a remix. The novelty and drama of the remix is seductive and deceptive.
The pictures I take of old master paintings represent selected facts. The camera frame isolates and fragments, removing parts from their original context. The photographs now liberated from the original artworks are like memories subject to interpretation, distortion and manipulation. Elements from various paintings are woven into constructed narratives inspired by experiences, dreams, fears and fantasies. The surrealistic tableaux question and subvert the facts of the original images. My intention is to create an image that wavers between dualities: painting and photograph, reality and fiction, past and present, true and false.
The 15”x20” archival pigment prints are mounted on hardboard and covered with layers of encaustic medium that creates a rich, luminous, and irregular surface. The wax and mounting technique provides the digitally manipulated photographs with a tactile and physical presence that evokes the historic artwork that inspired them.
BLOG SECTIONS
Befall, 2023-present
The fallen scraps of tree bark I photograph are delicate and brittle. Each fragment is a unique and intricate map of the tree's life - the patterns, textures and irregularities evidence of the impact of time, weather, insects, and climate change. I use photographic techniques to suggest the passage of time, emphasize abstract form, and extend the changes initiated by environmental forces. Thus, a small fragment of decaying bark becomes expansive, monumental, and powerful. It's worm holes and lichen become crevasses, constellations or vortexes. This work expresses the transformative power of nature and the delicate balance between fragility and resilience, serving as a testament to life, death and regeneration.
Inspired by Anna Atkins' botanical prints from 1843, my cyanotype technique diverges from traditional uses in significant ways. I choose the imperfect over the ideal specimen, photographing the bark to emphasize three-dimensional form, volume, and detail, rather than pressing material flat to produce a photogram. I intentionally move subject matter during long exposures to create motion blur, expressing the passage of time and impermanence. By combining sharp and blurred elements into a composite image, I aim to express the precarious balance between opposing states of existence and the pursuit of equilibrium. I create these images to reckon with transience and loss, recognizing and accepting the fear and allure of transformation.
Limbo, 2020-present
Most people have experienced moments in their lives that were transformative. When in an instant everything you knew and understood went out of control as your world turned upside. Sometimes these moments are very personal the result of an accident, health condition, or the end of a relationship. Or they may be shared more universally - like a natural disaster or global pandemic. The terror and beauty of sudden and irreversible change is the inspiration for Limbo. The humble plants and leaves I photograph are in a state of suspended animation, floating in ambiguous time and space. They appear in groups and pairs to express relationships and suggest a narrative. The juxtapositions within each composition are intended to represent dualities such as presence/absence, permanence/transience, past/present and give visual expression to the space in between. And by stretching the time it takes to cross from one state to another, bring recognition to and acceptance of the delicate balance between dualities.
The subject matter and cyanotype technique I use refer to the tradition of botanical prints dating back to Anna Atkin's work of 1843. Rather than photograph flat and sharply rendered specimens for scientific study, I intentionally distort and blur my subject matter through long exposures and selective focus. In fact, I don't think of the plant material as specimens at all but rather as characters that interact with each other and respond to forces beyond their control.
Peculiar Symbiosis, 2016 - 2019
This series of photomontages in diptych form explore the manipulation and transformation of art historical facts into photographic fiction. I am interested in challenging the traditional masculine gaze of the old master paintings I photograph by dissecting the paintings into small parts and liberating the pieces from their original context. The photographic artifacts can then be re-interpreted, distorted and manipulated to produce alternative narratives.
I use the diptych format to explore the shifting nature of memory and how interpretation of information is altered by gender, context and time. The diptych as a whole offers a narrative that questions and subverts the facts of the original image, while each part a tells a different version of that newly constructed narrative.
I construct my photomontages so they that initially appear to be historic paintings and provoke the viewer to question the medium and veracity of the image. My intention is to create an image that wavers between dualities: painting and photograph, part and whole, reality and fiction, past and present, male and female. Within the open-ended narratives of the pseudo historic images, I hope the viewer recognizes contemporary themes about conflict, anxiety, and identity.
Seductive Deception, 2015 – 2017
As an art history major in college, I studied master works and learned how each one contributed to the visual narrative of a particular style, time period, religion, or culture. I learned that iconic works of art were unique and priceless, to be guarded and venerated like sacred truths. Now I approach those same paintings as a curious photographer, questioning and dissecting them with each exposure. The fractured pieces are manipulated and transformed into a remix. The novelty and drama of the remix is seductive and deceptive.
The pictures I take of old master paintings represent selected facts. The camera frame isolates and fragments, removing parts from their original context. The photographs now liberated from the original artworks are like memories subject to interpretation, distortion and manipulation. Elements from various paintings are woven into constructed narratives inspired by experiences, dreams, fears and fantasies. The surrealistic tableaux question and subvert the facts of the original images. My intention is to create an image that wavers between dualities: painting and photograph, reality and fiction, past and present, true and false.
The 15”x20” archival pigment prints are mounted on hardboard and covered with layers of encaustic medium that creates a rich, luminous, and irregular surface. The wax and mounting technique provides the digitally manipulated photographs with a tactile and physical presence that evokes the historic artwork that inspired them.
BLOG SECTIONS