On Nine Mile
2013-2015
The photographs of On Nine Mile were made to explore my developing relationship with the place I now inhabit. They compare the reality of a place against preconception and actual experience versus idealized expectations. After growing up in the Pacific Northwest surrounded by the mountains, forests, and shoreline that typify the landscape of the region, I envisioned, and hoped to see a Great Plains landscape that was more closely aligned with that of Laura Ingalls Wilder books. I became ambivalent about this landscape within a few months of relocating. I found myself in the mindset of those from outside the region – that this place was not much more than fly-over country. I couldn’t see past the farms.
I relied on photography to establish a connection to my new location and to help me feel grounded. In creating this work I have become rooted in a landscape that I once considered shapeless and bleak. I found beauty and form in the small portions of prairie called “Nine Mile” among the corn and soybean fields. By revealing this overlooked beauty my work leads viewers to reflect on the relationship they have with their own landscapes and encourages a deeper exploration and understanding of the spaces they inhabit.
Nine Mile #113
Archival Pigment Print
30" x 20"
2015
Nine Mile #3
Archival Pigment Print
30" x 20"
2014
Nine Mile #26
Archival Pigment Print
30" x 20"
2015
Nine Mile #105
Archival Pigment Print
12" x 18"
2014
Nine Mile #2
Archival Pigment Print
18" x 12"
2014
Nine Mile #47
Archival Pigment Print
24" x 16"
2015
Nine Mile #62
Archival Pigment Print
18" x 12"
2014
Nine Mile #13
Archival Pigment Print
30" x 20"
2015
Nine Mile #148
Archival Pigment Print
16" x 24"
2014
Nine Mile #61
Archival Pigment Print
16" x 24"
2014
Nine Mile #30
Archival Pigment Print
16" x 24"
2015
Nine Mile #7
Archival Pigment Print
16" x 24"
2015
Nine Mile #18
Archival Pigment Print
16" x 24"
2015
Nine Mile #274
Archival Pigment Print
24" x 16"
2015
Nine Mile #32
Archival Pigment Print
18" x 12"
2014
Nine Mile #64
Archival Pigment Print
24" x 16"
2014
Nine Mile #151
Archival Pigment Print
12" x 8"
2014
Nine Mile #73
Archival Pigment Print
8" x 12"
2014
Nine Mile #93
Archival Pigment Print
12" x 8"
2014
Nine Mile #145
Archival Pigment Print
12" x 8"
2014