Julie Shafer
Julie Shafer

Work Statement.

Often done in nature, my work uses photographic processes that allow the image to change while I’m recording it, and in its framing, allow for multiple, simultaneous perspectives that counter the oft-perceived notion that photographic images are definitive truths. I seek out visual evidence of life-changing events that have occurred within remote Western landscapes, often forgotten through the erasure of time, loss of memory or conveniently retold histories. Part of the process in creating the work is to research the history and folklore of the site, incorporating my own personal experiences and the anecdotes of others that I have recorded in a written journal. Another record of the site that accompanies the photographs is the rubbings of visages of passage that I find, such as Pony Express markers and personalized markings in the rocks or the lumen recordings of swamp plant matter in contaminated waters.