Blue Forest Photograms, 2020-present

Drawn deep into the kelp forests off California’s coastline, I free dive on a single breath of air to collect images and specimens. With the chemistry of photography, I translate these experiences and interactions with the ocean’s inhabitants into a record of that time and place.

The collections of images and specimens from specific areas over time combine to create a portrait of place, illustrated by the inhabitants of the environments themselves. The morphology of the specimens I collect, primarily seaweed, are recorded by light as they lay in contact with the photographic paper, creating life-size records of their existence in the chemistry of photography.

This process is tangible, physical and natural. The immersion of my own body in the ocean, the searching, finding and plucking of the seaweed,  the exposure in sunlight and the final immersion of the print in water, all feels like an antidote to the paralysis of modern life as the impacts of humanity on the planet loom larger.