A Sense of Place - Imprints of Iceland

The physical space of landscapes can be closely tied to a person’s identity, sense of being, and infused with personal history. The composite, textured landscapes in the series “Imprints” are a re-creation of places and scenes from an estranged homeland. The series includes human scale abstract landscapes where several sheets of photographic paper with variable cutouts are layered together imitating landforms that have formed over millennia, as well as images that utilize fingerprint patterns evoking the uniqueness of our connection with nature. The visible and obscured parts of the landscape suggest the interplay of effects between man and nature, as well as the imperfections of memory, with juxtaposed textures emphasizing the mind’s inability to retain and fully comprehend its environment. The discontinuity between the images induces the viewer to draw on their own experiences to complete the work. Finally, by utilizing human fingerprint patterns, the images speak to our individual responsibility for our impressions upon nature.