Short Post-colonial Statement
For over a decade, I was mapping interactions between indigenous peoples and various governments. I began by pulling maps from the Library of Congress of the treaties between various indigenous tribes and the United States government, overlaying them on the actual location in a GPS program, then going out and shooting at intervals along the entire boundary. I would then overlay the photographs on the original map section in a grid format for the digital print. As a counterpart to this research on the actual land and treaties, I traveled to Europe, Panama, St Martin, and Southeast Asia where I transposed antique maps onto locations and then photographically mapped them. I mapped American colonies onto Europe and European borders onto the colonized countries.
Through all of these related projects I seek to illuminate a history that has been sanitized and distorted. Making the photographs using preset conditions instead of my own ideas of photographic beauty is a process that is hard to accept, but important for my process of understanding. The arbitrary notion of borders is one thing I am seeking to bring to the table. The horrendous and inexplicable nature of colonizing another country is another part that drew me to this project. As my first ancestors arrived in the US from Europe the 1630s, the history of my family is entwined with that of the United States.
Several of these projects were funded through New Frontiers Exploratory Travelling Fellowships.
There are more works in this overall body of work and each work is an Archival Inkjet Print and has been printed on various papers including Photo Rag, Strathmore drawing paper, and Epson Lustre. They have been shown framed, but often unframed and pinned directly to the wall. Most have deckled edges.
Pieces vary in size with printing and range from 17×18 inches (43×46 cm) to 44×30 inches (112x76cm) or 26×140 inches (66×356 cm)
Selected Exhibitions of this Work
Tashkent Biennale VIII
Re/Move; Foto, kino i video savez Vojvodine; Novi Sad, Serbia
Pilgrimages Through the Centuries; LeFevre Gallery, Ohio State University Newark
Bewegterwind-der Wind Formt; Twistetal-Gembeck, Hesse, Germany
Borderlands; South Seattle Community College Gallery; Washington
New Media Show; IU Kokomo Art Gallery; Kokomo, Indiana
Histories/Memories; Milwaukee Ave Arts Festival; Chicago, Illinois