Conquest of the Vertical (2012-2014)
Conquest of the Vertical is a series of 6’ pinhole negative images of remote Native American lands in California where mining occurred in the 1800’s. It was the first body of work in which I relinquished as much control as possible so that the barren, stripped land, devastated by years of mining, could itself make a mark/trace and serve as evidence of an unknown history. Each of these photographs were developed on location, and were affected by the natural conditions in which I was working. Sand, dust, and snowstorms all affected the chemistry and the surface of the paper. It shows up as scratches, inexplicable blotches on the surface, along with chemistry stains since the temperature made the photochemistry ineffective, leaving a mark on the photo, just as one has been left on the land.
Installation
Pinhole Prints
