Topographical Series

The printmaking lithographic process guided the development of the body of work Topographical Series, both conceptually and aesthetically.  This series stemmed from the process of an aqueous tusche and water solution.  The water used was collected from the Cache la Poudre River (fed by the glaciers I was studying).  The solution was poured onto the stone or metal lithographic plate and left to dry naturally, forming its own path.  When dry and printed, the reticulated surface mimics geological configurations: a river basin, canyon wall, a valley, or a desert surface. Responding to the topographical surface, the prints were arranged to reference maps.  We use mapping as a way of understanding the world, the same idea went into the making of this work - it is a way for me to internalize my research, observations, and thoughts.  The terrain-like reference in the prints initiated the concept.  Selected prints reference today’s landscape, as seen from an airplane or in satellite photos, displaying the gridded America.  The land grid has developed through the progress of civilization and agricultural practices.  The only thing that visually breaks up the grid is the organic flow of rivers and unusable farming land.  The aerial grid in the prints reference and question our agricultural practices (freshwater consumption and land surface use).