Time, history and change have been the themes of my work here in America and they are what compel my interest in the evolving Irish landscape. Traveling mostly in the north and west, I have photographed the landscape in black and white, using an extreme wide-angle triptych format.
On the western edge of Europe, beyond Roman conquest, Ireland eluded some of the waves of development and modernization that swept through much of the continent in historic times, leaving the remains of Neolithic tombs, Bronze Age circles and early Christian sites. Preserved by cultural traditions and to a degree by the stagnation of past poverty, these markers inform the landscape with its story in a very physical sense. From the traces of glacial transformations to the present, I have recorded layers of geologic and human history in a concise, straightforward style without overtly injecting the drama of the picturesque or clever abstractions of the camera’s frame. With full attention to photography’s unique relationship to time and complex narrative tensions, I hope the details of each image invite ideas and feelings viewers can work out for themselves.
I am also fascinated by the visual challenges of the wide view and three-part image, inspired, in part by the 19th century work of photographer Carlton Watkins, who employed the tactic to expand his view. My photographs encompass slightly over a 180-degree field, as wide as my outstretched arms can reach, an embrace, so to speak.
The images are produced by shooting film negatives, 6x7 cm on 120 film. It may be somewhat quaint, but I love to have a physical object be the result of my encounter with light and subject. The infinite analogue tonal range of a carefully made negative is still unsurpassed in my book. After starting the project by printing in a traditional darkroom, I began scanning the negatives into digital form and laying them out to print on a single piece of paper. This made viewing and handling much more practical. These archival inkjet prints are produced with pigment inks on 100% rag, acid free paper, 13 x 42 inches. Image area is 10 x 40 inches. I make all the prints myself.