Delta Constant
Brooke C. White
January 16 - March 18, 2007
Reception, Sunday, January 28, 2 - 4 p.m.

Artist Statement

Over the course of my life I have become more aware that space for personal contemplation is dwindling and we are losing land as well as our patience to address nature. Because mass media culture has infiltrated almost every aspect of our lives, our attention span has evolved in such a way that it does not allow us the time or the patience to address nature. The screen has become our new contemplative space because we have moved away from the natural landscape and therefore our perception of space has shifted into a fast-paced way of seeing. Delta Constant is a photographic study that compares and contrasts the agricultural practices and geographical similarities of several deltas from around the world, including those of the Mississippi River, the Mekong and Red Rivers in South East Asia, the Tana River in Kenya and the Orinoco River in Venezuela. On one level this project tends to capture the beauty of the landscape as well as the physical similarities that are inherent to all deltas, but it also addresses how contemporary land use affects an individual's connection to place. Delta Constant is ultimately concerned with presenting delta landscapes that, to the viewer, appear similar and virtually untouched but in fact are places that endure high levels of human use. Through the use of the horizon I emphasize the similarities found in deltas to focus the viewers attention on the universality of the landscape. In many ways I invite the viewer back to nature via the photographic "screen" at a time when we are disconnected to the natural world due to our dependence on technology.

 

- Brooke C. White