What Can Be Seen

— 15” x 11” Cyanotypes and Tea-stained Cyanotypes on Arches Platine—

I have spent the last seven years photographing Tangier Island off the coast of Virginia. The very water that the residents of Tangier depend upon to survive, is swallowing them up an average of nine acres every year. Predicted to be America’s first “climate change refugees,” the residents will be forced to evacuate, and we will lose an entire culture of people as unique as their dialect.

Today, the island sits only 3 feet above sea level, 1¼ miles wide by 3 miles long. By photographing Tangier Island, I hope to inform people of the need to take notice now and to think about the difficult decisions that stand before us. What Can Be Seen intertwines images captured on Tangier Island with climate change findings about what is happening on the island and the Chesapeake Bay. This fusing of scientific data with images bearing witness to the changes over time allows for a more comprehensive understanding of climate change and how it affects our world today. The cyanotype process alters the image from being read as a pure landscape, and the tea-staining process warms the blue tones adding a sense of nostalgia. Combined, the images provide a view into what will no longer be.