Squid Returning
1995/2008
Archival Inkjet Print, Photographic Triptych
18"x32"
This photograph was made from the top of a dune and belies the scale of the piece. The squid, made of kelp gathered along the shore, is over 40 feet in length.
A great deal of my work involves an engagement with the ecology of a given area, and an active collaboration with natural forces including tides, animals, erosion and chance. This series represents photographic documentation of works from a series of site installations constructed on the tidal plain on the Outer Cape in Wellfleet, where I have spent several months a year for many years. The materials are what is at hand – rock, kelp, shells, etc.
I have established a kind of intimacy with the landscape that I hope is evident from the work. Most are constructed about 20 minutes walk from the nearest public access point to an area of the National Seashore and only a handful of people see the work in-situ. The pieces are always intended to be temporal and have a minimal presence. It is an area I walked nearly every day during the warmer months. My intent is to create a kind of personal natural history and is as much about the meditative process of walking and looking closely, as it is about making.
A great deal of my work involves an engagement with the ecology of a given area, and an active collaboration with natural forces including tides, animals, erosion and chance. This series represents photographic documentation of works from a series of site installations constructed on the tidal plain on the Outer Cape in Wellfleet, where I have spent several months a year for many years. The materials are what is at hand – rock, kelp, shells, etc.
I have established a kind of intimacy with the landscape that I hope is evident from the work. Most are constructed about 20 minutes walk from the nearest public access point to an area of the National Seashore and only a handful of people see the work in-situ. The pieces are always intended to be temporal and have a minimal presence. It is an area I walked nearly every day during the warmer months. My intent is to create a kind of personal natural history and is as much about the meditative process of walking and looking closely, as it is about making.