GULP
(Generative Urban Landscape Project)

A gulp of water, a gulp of air, a gulp of reality…

In this photographic project, the ubiquitous Southern California pool becomes a medium through which the surrounding landscape is interpreted. The peculiar garden that is urban Southern California would not exist without water. Here it is viewed through that chlorinated lens. In SoCal, the presence of water or lack thereof distorts everything: politically, economically, and socially.

This series, like much of my work has a performative basis to it, each image resulting from a single descent in the water, and a single breath. Water movement and rising bubbles caused by my descent distort the medium through which the picture is taken, and through which the landscape is perceived. When viewers stand in front of the finished pictures, they find themselves inserted into the action and by extension into my presence there. The physical nature of the finished objects is therefore intimately connected to their effectiveness. The scale of the images (40”to 60” square), the intensity of the color, the reflective acrylic surfaces play crucial roles.

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