ARTIST STATEMENT

Sparsely scattered throughout remote mountainous regions from Colorado to California there exist stands of several-thousand-year-old Bristlecone Pines. One particular stand lives near me in the Colorado mountains. For more than 15 years I have visited these trees, as one would an ancient temple or sage, and I consider the myriad global changes through which they have stood. For me, their very presence embodies temporality and transcendence held in balance.  

Bristlecone Pines prosper in some of the planet’s harshest environments. Rising from thin, arid soil along nearly 12,000-foot tree lines, they endure fierce perpetual winds, withstand long periods of drought, and year-round temperatures hovering near to well-below freezing. I am awed by their beauty, and moved by their strength and resilience against time, wind, altitude…everything but us. These ancient trees, some alive since before the Roman Empire, are at last, dying. Their slow demise is due to climate change and the introduction of invasive species against which they have no defense.  

While struggling to convey how I view these trees, I happened upon a case of expired black and white Polaroid Type 665 film. Discontinued in 2007, the film was itself a vestige of a bygone era, and decades beyond its expiration date. The film’s imperfections and truncated tonal range, imposed by time and climate, created visually meaningful implications. Juxtaposed with the unique Bristlecone Pine forms, the resulting images underscore the steadfast value of the past, and a sense of unease as we move into a future where human endeavors supersede adopting a balanced place in the natural world.

PROCESS & EDITION INFORMATION:  Archival Pigment Prints on Watercolor Paper, from Drum Scanned Expired Polaroid Type 665 Negatives.

16x20”  on 17x22” Fine Art Watercolor Paper.  Edition of 5 + 2 A/P

6.5x8” on 8.5x11” Fine Art Watercolor Paper.  Edition of 3 + 2 A/P

40x50” on Fine Art Watercolor Paper. Edition of 3