With dirt under my nails, my heart jumps as my hand brushes against a worm in the soil. I am reminded of the world that thrives underground, 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, nurseries, highways, and graveyards.
My photographic approach aims to create curious representations of ecosystems while referring to place and memory. In addition to a camera, I use a flatbed scanner to capture a level of detail that the camera cannot compete with, playful perspective, and an odd sense of light. I am attracted to making work that takes time and find the layering of processes necessary in my artistic discovery. I approach a chosen space like an amateur biologist; observing, sketching, noting, photographing specimens and scanning the scene with a scanner. Once I have ‘collected’ the scene, I begin the process of visually telling the story of what I saw, and who (or what) may live among us, through compositing the elements together into a visual narrative.
My photographic approach aims to create curious representations of ecosystems while referring to place and memory. In addition to a camera, I use a flatbed scanner to capture a level of detail that the camera cannot compete with, playful perspective, and an odd sense of light. I am attracted to making work that takes time and find the layering of processes necessary in my artistic discovery. I approach a chosen space like an amateur biologist; observing, sketching, noting, photographing specimens and scanning the scene with a scanner. Once I have ‘collected’ the scene, I begin the process of visually telling the story of what I saw, and who (or what) may live among us, through compositing the elements together into a visual narrative.
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Melinda Hurst Frye aims to slow the process of looking, into an experience of discovery by way of observation, experimentation, and slow investigation of the forest floor. Her photographic practice centers on themes of ecology and place through images made with both scanner and camera of the Pacific Northwest landscape. Hurst Frye’s work has been featured in numerous publications and spaces, and in several permanent collections. She holds an MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and a BFA from the Pacific Northwest College of Art. Hurst Frye lives with her family adjacent to an urban forest in Kenmore, Washington, and is represented by J. Rinehart Gallery in Seattle, Washington.
Work featured by Charley Locke on Wired Photo, Mother FStop, Blend Images, RealClearLife, Lenscratch and Lensculture Interview on process and concept by Jon Feinstein for Humble Arts Foundation |
Photograph by Gordon Hempton, Hoh Rainforest, WA
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