studio work > perpetual processes

perpetual process (mountains)
perpetual process (mountains)
hand-etched photograph on aluminum
2022

Perpetual Processes (Coast, Valley, Mountains, High Desert) is a series of four artworks, one for each geographic zone of what is now Oregon. The works are a combination of photography, digital manipulation, and hands-on engraving that dwell on the dichotomy of perceived stability and perpetual change that is evident in the landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. Each image in Perpetual Processes focuses on an element of the landscape that is often thought of as stable; sea stacks, centuries old Oregon Oak trees, vast desert landscapes, and mountain tops. Elements of the landscape that change very little over the course of a human lifetime yet are products of immense change when perceived at a geologic timescale. Each image in the series also contain elements of constant change. Environmental ephemera that continually shift and change; the waves of the ocean, the leafing out of an Oak tree, the melting of spring snow, and the shadows of clouds as they glide over a dry lake bed that was filled with water just weeks before. Each panel is comprised of approximately 15,000 pixels; the length of time there is evidence of humans inhabiting the place now called Oregon. This project was commissioned by the Oregon Arts Commission for the Oregon State Treasury Resiliency Building in Salem, Oregon.