Semblance
This body of work uses x-ray imaging technology to reveal the internal structures of decaying plants and seeds collected during long, reflective walks through the woods. I create these images only after observing and collecting detritus— a slow and contemplative process. Photography is my way of practicing the Quaker tenet of a "religion of experience," a reverent investigation of everyday life. Studying the smallest leaf in the midst of a cluttered forest brings me clarity and focus.
To go a step beyond observation, photographing nature inside and out with the revealing eye of radiography is my way of meditating on the complex and beautiful workings of the world. For all of our familiarity with the elements around us, there is much more beauty and intricacy, by orders of magnitude, hidden from our immediate view. Worshipping these pure, organic sculptures through is a form of practical prayer and mindful meditation. This practice is also influenced by the Japanese aesthetic tradition of "wabi-sabi," embracing the simple and the imperfect.
My hope is that the viewer’s experience of these images conjures a wide variety of associations, perceptions, and contemplations. By sharing my investigations of natural forms, I encourage the viewer to survey their avenues of worship and their conscientious appreciation of the everyday. As the late photographer Minor White wrote, “No matter what role we are in— photographer, beholder, critic...we are given to see from a sacred place. From that place the sacredness of everything may be seen.”
