Minnesota holds some of the most ecologically rich and visually striking landscapes in the country. Lakes, rivers, forests, and wetlands that are culturally, historically, and environmentally significant. Much of this terrain falls under federal stewardship, yet these protected lands face increasing pressure from political decisions and industrial ambitions, including copper‑nickel mining, logging, and expanding residential development.
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Strands is a photographic study of this fragile region at a moment of heightened vulnerability. Made with a 4×5 view camera and black‑and‑white film, the work turns toward tone, texture, and form to reveal both the beauty of these places and the precarity beneath their surfaces. Each photograph is a small trace, a strand of evidence, showing how slow, incremental changes accumulate in the land and water over time.
This project follows a long lineage of artists who used representation to advocate for the land, figures such as Ansel Adams and Thomas Moran, whose images helped shape public understanding of wilderness and its protection. Their influence is present here not as imitation, but as a reminder that art can illuminate what policy obscures.
By recording these landscapes with precision and restraint, the project asks viewers, especially those who live within the watershed and those whose decisions shape its future, to reflect on their relationship to this region and the forces that threaten it. The photographs stand as both witness and warning, urging a renewed sense of responsibility for the places we risk losing.
These photographs are part of my ongoing thesis for my Master of Arts in Photography at the Academy of Art University.
