Dark Index
Dark Index from Along A Shadowed Shore
These nocturnal photographs focus on plants growing within the coastal ecotone along a short stretch of South Florida shoreline. Made through close observation of the area, the images move between portraiture, field study, and staged intervention. Some photographs are made directly on the sandy shore just steps from the ocean, while others take place within dense unmanaged vegetation between the sea and road. Intermingling native, protected, and invasive species are photographed at night with flash against a hand-held white backdrop marked by a one-inch grid. The plants are temporarily isolated within systems of observation, measurement, and classification. Yet the vegetation continually exceeds and disrupts these imposed structures, tangling across and beyond the grid. The visible human hand, artificial light, and surrounding darkness introduce uncertainty, where the nocturnal landscape resists fixed understanding within a shifting coastal ecology.