Seeking Shelter looks at the ways in which memory and observation influence each other. Childhood experiences nestle themselves in the memory but may come back at unexpected moments. Sometimes, I pass places that call me and urge me to photograph there. Growing up in a less than safe environment, these places often contain strong echoes from memories of the places I turned to for shelter from loneliness and terror in my childhood. The photo's are made in black and white pinhole, which helps to model the way I look back at that time: with clear but soft eyes, not distracted by details.
Landscape is my subject, connection is my theme. I regard the landscape as a metaphor for my personal history in which connection was largely absent but the desire to connect was always present. I will not photograph a landscape just to record it. It has to have a spirit present, and that spirit of the place, Virgil’s genius loci, has to speak to me. I work in monotone to draw attention to both formal and substantive qualities of my work. Experiments in recording techniques (pinhole), printing techniques, substrates, inks, and tones are an essential part of my artistic practice.
