Expansion | Contraction

Resilience is the operative word here. Cracks are nature’s way of coping with the opposed forces of moisture and heat - arch enemies in the high desert.



Each of these pieces was taken on a simultaneously barren, but incredibly vibrant patch of earth in Super-remote Eastern Oregon. It’s roughly 10 miles long by 3 miles wide and lies in the rain shadow of the Steens Mountain Massif, a Fault Block mountain range that rises 5,700 feet above the 4,000 foot desert floor. 



Some are these cracks and tiles are created by the constant moisture seeping onto the edge of the desert from a set of geothermal hot springs created by tectonic plate movement. Some are created by ponds of rain water that dry in mere hours after monsoon like storms, leaving only cracks to indicate anything happened. Some are formed where streams come and go on the Western Edge, created by the desert heat melting glacial deposits on the adjacent Steens Mountain range. 

For the past 5 years I’ve dedicated time on each visit to the Alvord Desert Playa documenting the various different types of mud cracks caused by the constant rain and drying cycle.

I’ve been visiting for 20 years and in that time I’ve seen the same playa with out significant changes aside from the weekly markings, and short-lived scars where the vehicles of unsuspecting, unprepared visitors have gotten stuck in the viscous, almost quicksand like mud. 



Over the past couple years that has started to change. The increased number of people seeking the wildness and uniqueness of this place has started to create noticeable changes in the behavior of the tiles, the dust and the vegetation. While nature seemed capable of dealing with the occasional visitor, the sheer number of vehicle and high speed driving seems to be more than nature can rebuild in her natural cycle. This is a phenomenon that has been noticed by the Bureau of Land Management as well as an advocacy group which serves this region and to which I’m proud to be a member. The {Oregon Natural Desert Association}(https://onda.org/) does profound work advocating for this place and I’m committed to donating 10% of all sales from this collection to their work. I work with them already and trust their commitment to preserving this place. 



There is a second set of images that give context from this place and I will airdrop one to each owner once the entire collection is sold out.