Dark Index
Dark Index from Along A Shadowed Shore (ongoing)
These nocturnal photographs focus on plants growing within the coastal ecotone along a stretch of South Florida shoreline. Made through close observation and the heightened presence of seemingly ordinary plants, the images move between portraiture, field study, and intervention. Some photographs present plants against a black shoreline void, while others show them within dense vegetation between the sea and road. Intermingling native, protected, and invasive species are photographed with flash against a hand-held white backdrop marked by a one-inch grid.
Plants are temporarily isolated within frameworks of study, yet continually disrupt these structures, tangling across and beyond the grid. After printing, some photographs are physically layered to echo my experience in the landscape. The clipped corners draw on the visual language of historical botanical specimen albums and emphasize the photographs as constructed objects. The provisional language of field study remains visible in the notes and markings on some of the toned cyanotypes. The human hand, artificial light, and surrounding darkness introduce uncertainty as the shifting coastal environment resists fixed understanding.