Artist Statement
I am drawn to desolate land and seascapes. For me, making images is a meditation of sorts, a search for truth. While I am intrigued by the formal qualities of the areas I photograph, there’s something about shooting in the land/by the sea, which releases my innermost thoughts and transfers them to my photographs.
My process is a huge part of who I am as a photographer. I make all of my images on black and white film, primarily infrared. I appreciate the way that infrared film seems to turn the world inside out, as well as its unique ability to expose what the naked eye cannot see. Further, the darkroom is where I learn about the subconscious aspect of my images.
All of my photographs are essentially self-portraits; the more I print, the more I start to see the part of me that was unconsciously exposed, and that revelation is largely what my work is about.
Awakenings: Point Lobos & Beyond
Awakenings began in 2010, when I had the opportunity to stay at Bodie House on Wildcat Hill. Staying in Edward Weston’s former home and shooting in Carmel were life-changing moments for me. I had always dreamed of making photographs where the masters who inspired me made theirs.
Point Lobos is a place that I deeply connected with and continue to return to. While both phases of the series were made exclusively in California, the bulk of the images have been made at or near Lobos.
Awakenings commenced as a series of paradoxes. Darkness and light, dreams and uncertainty, conflict and accord. However, as the body of work continues to grow, it has become about the undercurrents; the gravitational pull of nature, as well as spirit, which brings these opposites together, and in doing so, uncovers what lies hidden beneath the surface.
Each phase of the work represents further insights into the work, as well as myself; there is no separation between the two.
This ongoing work is directly related to my Emergence series (2007-2009), which was the first body of work I created after the heartbreaking loss of my mother.