Lost Lake (Estuary)

Lost Lake (Estuary)considers geology, vision, weather and ecology evolving from work in the marginal zone between ebb and flood tides; a conceptual shift occurred when given a rare diagnosis that held the possibility of a complete loss of vision.

Lost Lake (Estuary) is a lens-based series that considers geology, vision, weather and ecology. It evolved from my work based in the marginal zone between ebb and flood tides; a conceptual shift occurred when given a rare diagnosis that held the possibility of a complete loss of vision. My images began to reflect the shifts in my own ocular reality such as double vision and blurriness.  A surprise to me was that the work also became very much about weather shifts in the weather as my diagnosis coincided with the beginning of a very turbulent New England winter season. I had been tracking the tides for the past half year, and high tide emerged as my preferred time to portray the sea. I photographed sea foam, snow, wind, and stormy waters. I found the turbulence of the wind and water reflected my own sense of being. Many of the images are montages. I embraced the montage as a large part of my practice during the pandemic when I would walk the forest trails with my young granddaughter. The forest was under distress due to climate issues, and as I mourned the lost trees I imagined how the forest might be experienced to my granddaughter who had lost her vision soon after birth. Lost Lake (Forest) is connected to this series through geology, loss (both ecologically and personally), and the uncanniness of familiar ocular disruption. The montage holds the promise of two or more moments folded into one experience (of the photograph). It holds mystery and whispers of the unknown. I look to the tides, so connected to the moon, and to the heavens which hold holds dreams and possibilities.