Nomadic Landscapes

During 2004 and 2005, I was engaged in the extensive process of obtaining permanent residency and thinking of the immigrant journey, mine more marginal than most but nevertheless full of evocative emotions of home and placement. This was an introspective time, and through waking dreams I found myself unconsciously contrasting valleys found on the prairies with the mountain ranges of my still relatively new home in Ashland, Oregon. I began translating the geography of my imagination by way of forming sheets and bed linens into landscapes. The images I shot and interpreted through print were cloistered but itinerant places, between destinations, referring to anywhere and anytime—to journey, migration, or overall transformation. Despite the fact that these images were inspired by still-life photographs, many viewers fittingly mistake them for places such as the Sierra Nevadas or other terrains they have traveled.