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 and the heightened presence of seemingly ordinary plants, the images move between portraiture, field study, and intervention. Some images present plants against a black shoreline void, while others show them 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. Plants are temporarily isolated within frameworks of study, measurement, and classification, yet continually exceed and disrupt such imposed structures, tangling across and beyond the grid. The visible human hand, artificial light, and surrounding darkness introduce uncertainty as the shifting coastal environment resists fixed understanding.