Through experimentation and manipulation stemming from the suite Quiet of the Snow, I extended my photography of site-specific snow/land-scapes as the bases for a surreal environment from which to balance elements derived from previous work. Having initially called the series Trajectory, I retitled it dis-PLACED to better acknowledge my intentions. Pointing to temporal moments, this work—although not political—was influenced by events surrounding the Syrian refugee crisis, immigration, and migration. Sheets crumpled in snow and scattered leaves in anonymous environments hint at displacement. In 2015, I created a test piece, Quiet of the Snow, which fused my vision for a suite. I deliberated and produced the work in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at Proyecto Áce, an internationally recognized and prestigious artist’s residency focused on print and alternative media. The philosophies surrounding kintsugi, Japanese golden joinery, emerged during early conversations at my residency. A repair process employing precious metals, kintsugi is often used to mend broken pottery by dusting lacquer with powdered gold or silver. While observing the many repairs made to streets and plaster walls around Buenos Aires—along with the European-influenced architecture accentuated with gold leaf such as the Teatro Cólon—I discovered parallels between restorative processes, my current research, and my longstanding interest in Japanese aesthetic philosophy. Looking specifically at lines I had used to signify folds or tears in previous work, I resurrected these marks in my residency artwork. I used leafing techniques to mimic the appearance and philosophy of kintsugi while referencing the cracked sidewalks and architectural renewal I witnessed in Argentina. Accentuation treats damage—or, in this case, a cut and separated image capturing a dislocated moment in time—as honored history rather than something to camouflage. Inspired by both the locale and critical dialogue with residency staff about creative history and current cultural concerns, I blended former and current research with my previous influences from Japan and Buenos Aires observations.
