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Ghost Pipes was created in The Hoh Rain Forest, located in Washington's Olympic National Park. Here flora and fauna illustrate that we are always tied to migration, evolution, and metamorphosis. In addition to a camera, Hurst Frye uses a flatbed scanner to capture a curious perspective, and light.Label
With dirt under my nails, my heart jumps as my hand brushes something in the soil. I am reminded of the world that thrives at ground level and below, unsettled by the mystery that is at my fingertips. Analogous to scenes from a natural history museum, flora and fauna take center stage to illustrate that we are always tied to migration, evolution, and metamorphosis. The surface is not a border, but an entrance to homes and habitats, highways and systems, graveyards, and regeneration.
Based on the unique ecology and brilliance of the forest understory of the Pacific Northwest, the Nurse Log series is a set of 5 photographs made from scans along a fallen log while it returns to the soil as it cradles new life. The Nurse Log series is part of the series 'The Forest Floor', an ongoing observation and witness to the brilliance of an active forest, celebrating the smallest of natural efforts and champions.
By way of observation, experimentation, and slow investigation in the field, the imagery in 'The Forest Floor' references the mysterious activity of forested ecosystems layered with a sense of place. I approach a space like an amateur biologist; observing, sketching, noting, photographing specimens, and scanning the scene with a flatbed scanner. Once I have ‘collected’ the scene, I begin the process of visually telling the story of the ecology, place, and my own personal connection to the Pacific Northwest landscape.