This series is very much in progress. The idea for it started during a trip to Iceland, where phases of geologic time were simultaneously on view; from cooling lava flows to fields of volcanic rock to black sand beaches comprised of minute pieces of crushed lava. I started pondering - and researching - concepts of time and its relationship to place, particularly volatile areas on the planet that represent a balance of creation and destruction in the immediate and on time scales beyond human comprehension. Places that are extreme, fragile, and resilient.
My first sequence was unplanned... I created it while at an artist residency at the Kilpisjärvi Biological Station in sub-arctic Finland; a direct response to the vast and overwhelming nature of the landscape there. Although striving for perfection, these sequences both capture and betray the passage of time and represent the glitchy nature of time itself. Clouds move through the frames and line up imperfectly from image to image, shadows roll over the ground creating ever-changing patterns, and grass and trees sway in the breeze. Not to mention by own imperfect relationship with the landscape and documentation of it.
On a recent trip to Sicily, I found myself absolutely transfixed by the sulfur clouds billowing out of Vulcano. I could have stayed there all day, taking photographs every few seconds as the configuration of light and smoke subtly changed the mood of the landscape and seascape beyond.
For now, these sequences are my way to express thoughts and ideas that are difficult to translate visually, but I'm sure the concepts and expression will change over time, as does that landscape.
