Artist Statement
The Sun Beneath the Sky is a series of cameraless photographic landscapes made using a lumen photogram print process. Each unique lumen photogram is made by selectively exposing silver gelatin paper to sunlight using cut paper and multiple exposures. The cut paper masks are based on the mountain ranges of the Western United States and the images depict layers of pastel toned mountains and valleys under sunlit skies,the sunlight acting as both medium and subject matter.
As individuals we experience nature in such a way as to give us the impression of unending bounty and infinite natural resources, something we can take from without effect. However when applied on a grand scale we end up where we are today, on the brink of environmental catastrophe. These images take the subject of granite mountain ranges; landscapes that evoke solidity, magnitude and wonder and transforms them into something ethereal, transparent and airy. The titles refer back to the naming conventions of old landscape photography masters such as Ansel Adams, Cedric Wright and Edward Weston and serve to ground the images in a sense of earthliness, although they are of imaginary, hybrid places.
Reflecting upon the landscapes of my life in the Western United States, the images are a meditation on memory, climate change and geologic time.
