Artist Statement

I live in the West, but I am a transplant, as they say here. This is not my state, not my land, and not my trails. In terms of connecting with the land, the water is the aspect of this place that defines me as a human navigating this space with my mind, body, and soul. The prominent water feature in the place I call home is the South Platte River, which is the subject of this body of work. "A River Flowing Upward" is a body of work that restructures the image of water to redefine this resource as a place of intimacy and spiritual connection. I aim to understand how the photographic medium echoes themes of spirituality and nature's processes. Through the act of complicating the photographic image of water, this body of work thinks about the modern avenues of controlling nature - physically and intellectually - and its implications on society’s ability to find a connection to place and the landscape.