The water has a body, and so do I. A body as old as time itself, one that has ebbed and flowed for longer than I can comprehend. Yet within the tradition of photography, we have often constrained bodies of water and other natural elements to romantic fragments within their time. We halt them within the photographic moment, failing to recognize water for its ephemeral and animate nature, one that requires our dedication and time to understand.

Overflow seeks to recognize picture as privilege by inviting water to be a collaborator in the photographic process. By using a camera-less medium, the traditional colonial gaze of the lens is removed from the creation of the image, allowing the water to take a leading role in its own imaging. To create these images, I met the water at the shoreline, often in the quiet of morning, and arranged a composition that included nearby flora, natural objects from along the shore, or my own body. As the water rushed to meet the paper it slowly carved its features into the material, aided by both natural and artificial UV light. Guided by intuition, what emerged were vibrant self-portraits of one of Earth’s most dynamic elements, existing as both abstract documentation of an uncontrollable force and a tangible record of the strong connection between myself and these bodies of water that have been forged over time. Made on visits to both freshwater and saltwater bodies, Overflow exists as part of a personal pursuit to image the natural world in a truthful, respectful, and reciprocal manner, placing importance on learning to revere the oceans and lakes that surround us.