“As Above, So Below”

“From Raindrop to Medicine”, 16x20 Photogram

“AS ABOVE, SO BELOW”

ARTIST STATEMENT:

This body of work began as an attempt to push myself out of my comfort zone and capture a familiar landscape in a new perspective, but it unexpectedly became as much an exploration of self as of the environment. I created these photograms in the middle of the night, a half mile into the woods, up to my knees in the inky-black waters of the marsh on my property in Upstate, NY. As I navigated the wetlands with my arms full of photo paper and lighting equipment, my fear of the dark dissolved and I became attuned to the vibrancy of the dark space. Frogs called out, crayfish scattered, leeches and fish drifted past, and barred owls made themselves known as the wildflowers and cattails swayed with my movements. The connection between water and land in this ecosystem is palpable when you’re so fully immersed in it. With senses heightened in the dark, I discovered a world I hadn’t known to look for: full of the complex nuances of this ecosystem, carved by the constant flux of water, and the intricately layered biodiversity inhabiting it. By positioning the Marsh as an active collaborator in image-making, I created overlapping double exposures to describe the otherwise invisible relationship between the underwater and terrestrial worlds: their physiological bonds, symbiotic relationships, and natural rhythms. As I worked, the water in the Marsh revealed itself not merely as a subject of ecological significance for all of the life within, but as a mirror to humanity. I recognized myself (all of us, really) in the shallow depths of the marsh, reflecting on my own inner and outer worlds and how our psyche manifests in our surroundings.

Furthermore, the connection between self and nature became increasingly clearer as I developed these 16×20 prints beneath the visible Milky Way, feeling alert, grateful, and deeply embodied in the universe. This project allowed me to engage intimately with one of Earth’s most precious and fragile ecosystems, and reflect on how humans' perception, memory, and emotion intersects with the environments we inhabit. I learned that there are secrets and mysteries within each of us that can be illuminated through curiosity, observation, and empathy. Reconnecting with our environment may be humanity’s greatest medicine.