Turbulent Margins 2023-

Turbulent Margins 2024-

This project documents the geographic narratives embedded in riverbank soil and the waters after a flood or drought. These transitional areas, known as riparian zones, are in constant flux, as rising temperatures due to climate change contribute to more extreme water movements. The force of the water during each flood disturbs sediment, soil, debris, and vegetation. As the river waters recede, these remnants settle into a visual tableau. These remains are also forms of plant memory. Plants can transmit information through chemical signals and genetic adaption and respond to experienced stimuli differently in each future event as if remembering each turbulent trauma. These photographs capture traces of these upheavals in progress and reflect on displacement, ecological geographies, and the changing climate.

In photographing these remains, I have taken a perspective that looks directly down at the soil. The camera is held parallel to the land, eliminating horizons. The effect is a kind of aerial photograph with a viewpoint close to the ground. The project's close-up images are printed as large single and multi-panel presentations on mulberry, hemp, and fiber papers. The delicate yet robust texture of the paper augments the patterns of the river debris, its surface evoking the turbulence of an environment in flux.