Terra
The Terra Series created in 2021 showcases scenery that is distorted, unknown and mysterious - it pulls at us with questions. Where is this place? Does it exist here on earth? Is this the future of our planet? For many of these places, the spectacular formations were created shift-by-shift over millions of years through rock, ice and water. The slow continuous flux being the thing that has remained constant. The colors, vibrations, tones and textures lure you into apocalyptic visions of the land. This project, with images shot in various parts of the world, explores ideas around the spaces here on earth and our impact on them as well as what these could look like in our future. There is so much we have yet to know or understand; spaces in time we have yet to imagine. Even so, as we view these otherworldly scenes, we remain grounded in this earth, our terra.
Ring On Ring
This series explores the lingering effects of the logging industry and its legacy in the Pacific Northwest in visual form. Old growth forests were slashed in large numbers in order to "tame the land" as well as jump start the economy during west ward expansion. Washington and the Pacific Northwest quickly assumed the role of primary timber supplier to the nation, ensuring the region’s rapid development as it entered the 20th century. Such settlements at the time were notorious for their lawlessness — unregulated prospecting fostered a libertine spirit and sustainability was not part of the vocabulary. To counter the still booming industry, this series explores the destruction, captured the beauty that can be found in loss. For this series, each image is printed on seed paper with eco friendly inks, so that one day they could be buried and grow new plant life.
Remembering the North
While memories may prove to be concrete in some cases, they are never as tangible as an object. It is through pictures that our earliest memories are confirmed, and re-experienced. It is in the creation of the photograph, a truthful object, that it can confirm some truths, yet they are only one piece of the moment. It is this idea that I explore in my work, the conscious use of the camera, negatives, and layering to mimic the ambiguity that memories can have: fleeting moments of imagery captured in the mind’s eye yet fractured, & bundled together.
Somos Uno
In this body of work "Somos Uno", photographer Erica Frisk explores the complex relationship of people and land within Oaxaca, Mexico. Like the nearby states of Guerrero and Chiapas, Oaxaca contains a startlingly diverse range of indigenous cultures with roots that reach back many centuries. Each of the groups has an intense connection with the land - through cultivation, and religious beliefs. In Frisk's photographs, we see an interplay of the natural world and man-made structures both contemporary and ancient, and how each space had a unique history. Ever present are the valleys and hills that are the geographic majority of Oaxaca as well as the people living and working within this landscape.
