Erosion #1

Name/Title

Erosion #1

Entry/Object ID

2023.9.1

Description

A framed photograph of patterns in beach sand left by waves. The first in a series of three.

Photograph Details

Type of Photograph

Archival Inkjet Print

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

Jenny Carey

Role

Artist

Date made

2019

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Artist Commentary

Label

Erosion Series statement "We are often unaware of the gradual decline and the erosion in our lives but not unaware of the gnawing feeling it brings.” – Eric Timm, Static Jedi: The Art of Hearing God Through the Noise These images, collectively titled Erosion, were captured on a beach in Costa Rica. There, the ocean rearranges the shore wave by wave. Any log, small rock or leaf on the beach creates a fracture, drawing the sand into shapes of a tree, a figure, an abstract image. On that beach, I spent fragments of time with “gnawing feelings” about changes in the fabric of my life: my last physical tie to my birthplace with a property sale; the profoundly painful wrenching away of a friend’s voice with her passing. The dynamic deposition and erosion on the beach were a soothing reminder of life rhythms and the integration of love and loss. Sand, used for centuries as a measurement of time, changed minute by minute, the same way we artificially measure love and loss in our everyday life. Both simply shift. Photography for me is always a quest to capture time. By documenting a single moment, I can create a new story or representation of a memory. The Erosion series is one result. – Jenny Carey, 2019

Label Type

Didactic

Label

Jenny Carey (b. 1954) Erosion #1, #2, #3 (left to right), 2019 framed photographs, archival pigment prints 17 x 20 in. Gift of the artist, 2023.9.1, 2023.9.2, 2023.9.3 These images, collectively titled Erosion, were captured on a beach in Costa Rica. There, the ocean rearranges the shore wave by wave. Any log, small rock or leaf on the beach creates a fracture, drawing the sand into shapes of a tree, a figure, an abstract image. Referencing these works in her Oral History Interview Carey states: “What you see in these works, which can appear to the viewer like a drawing instead of a photograph, are the waves unearthing some of the black sand from the beach next door. The tide then left these shapes, figures, and images in the sand, and I started noticing them.” This work of art is a part of the HCC Permanent Art Collection. The HCC Art Galleries, through their Campus Loan Outreach Program, seek to share original art by collecting a diversity of works for the education and enjoyment of the HCC Community.