An Ordinary Shore (ongoing)
An Ordinary Shore (2023–present) responds to the coastal ecosystems of South Florida through sustained engagement with a short stretch of shoreline near my home. At first glance, little distinguishes it from countless other coastal sites, yet returning to it over time reveals signs of broader environmental change. Through experimental photographic processes, I build on these observations, offering different ways of looking at this familiar place. The project unfolds through four interconnected chapters: Nocturnal Tracing, Sargassum, Dark Index, and Along a Shadowed Sea. Accumulation and the tension between systems of observation and a place that continually exceeds them connect the chapters.
My attention was first drawn to the increasing amounts of sargassum blanketing the shore. While essential to marine ecosystems, the scale of recent blooms has become a visible marker of ecological shifts. In response, I create photograms at the water’s edge, allowing traces of the ocean to register directly onto light-sensitive paper. I then develop the images with tea made from sargassum that has washed ashore and stabilize them with saltwater (Nocturnal Tracing). This process led me to bring the seaweed into the darkroom, where I magnify small fragments to reveal their intricate structures and gas-filled berries (Sargassum).
I also photograph the human-marked shoreline (Along a Shadowed Sea) and make nocturnal studies of plants growing within the coastal ecotone (Dark Index). The grid, which recurs across the project, functions as both a provisional structure for ordering what is seen and a framework that leaves room for possible futures. Together, these chapters form a material portrait of a coastal ecology in flux.