“Our Land” is a series of portraits of the fleeting layers of leaves, fruits, seeds, and twigs on the ground in the area between two steps. It’s the soil that one walks upon without seeing it. The fallen foliage, flowers, and fruits turn the land into an ephemeral canvas that documents the ongoing negotiations and reconciliations between human and forces in nature: gravity, wind, and rain. There are traces of activity and hints of the time of the year and places, a nibbled acorn from a squirrel, or a leaf blown from across the field.
As I move from tree to tree, the topology of the ground shifts in tonality, structure, density, and luminance. It mirrors the paradoxical feelings I have about land, feeling displaced geographically, culturally, and emotionally, and at the same time, feeling grounded, at awe, and uplifted by the nurturing power shared by all land.
The images are captured on an iPhone camera and are presented larger than life to invite viewers to immerse themselves in the complex dynamics of our living systems and of one’s internal emotional ground.