Vanessa Marsh

Artist Statement

The Sun Beneath the Sky is a series of cameraless photographic landscapes made using a lumen photogram print process. Each unique lumen photogram is made by selectively exposing silver gelatin paper to sunlight using multiple exposures and cut paper masks. The prints are then processed in photo chemicals to affix the image. The cut paper masks are based on the mountain ranges of the Western United States and the images depict layers of pastel toned mountains and valleys under sunlit skies.

The Sun Beneath the Sky takes the subject of granite mountain ranges; landscapes that evoke solidity, magnitude and wonder and transforms them into something ethereal, transparent, and airy. As individuals we experience nature in such a way as to give us the impression of unending bounty and infinite natural resources, something we can take from without effect. However, when applied on a grand scale we end up where we are today, on the brink of environmental catastrophe. I create these images to highlight that these landscapes are part of a living system of interconnected, and sometimes fragile parts, even as it may seem grandiose on an individual level.

The titles refer to the naming conventions of old landscape photography masters such as Ansel Adams, Cedric Wright and Edward Weston and serve to ground the work in a sense of earthliness, although they are of imaginary, hybrid places. Reflecting upon the landscapes of my life in the Western United States, the images are a meditation on memory, climate change and geologic time.

Vanessa Marsh | Portland, OR

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