
In 2008 I
did a three day backpacking trip into, around, and then up and out of the Grand
Canyon. This was a phenomenal experience in which I brought back with me
hundreds of digital images. I knew while I was there I would do a series using
these images and one of the precepts would be shadow. When I got back to my
studio I started to play with the images. Then I began to search for something
to print them on. I wanted the print material to be specifically connected to
the trip.
The result is the piece Canyon Loiter. The installation will comprise of a hanging wire armature, and the prints, which are printed on the newsprint guide from the season I was there, secured on it. While the prints are up they will be sprayed with water by viewers. The spraying of these prints and the exposure to natural light will deteriorate them quickly, even causing them to fall off the armature. They will fall into a trough creating a pile of deteriorated prints. The pile of deteriorating prints is the antithesis of the process that creates the Grand Canyon with its walls carved over millenniums; both are physical representation of time passing. The piece will be documented throughout the installation, the deteriorated prints will be documented after the piece comes down, and these images will be worked digitally in the studio. But this piece needs a space for it to proceed, and I have started the process of finding a venue for this installation. I am sure this process will give me more material to continue with the Afamous Artist series.