I began to explore a large organic garden in Sonoma County, California during different seasons of the year. This three acre garden is a teaching center. By modelling principles of a wild farm, the gardens speak to the goals of sustainable agriculture and harmony with nature. At this beautiful garden site I frequently photographed at dawn which is the time of day when plant activity begins. I looked into the shadows of the unlit land to see light and activity begin. In the broadest sense the garden can be seen as metaphor for hopeful beginnings.
As I paid close attention to the plants' growth activity, I attempted, at least mentally, to step outside of a human centered viewpoint. What does our world consist of? Who and what is part of our reality? What occurs at the edges of our daily human existence?
I photographed with infra red film which records plant activity. Since this film is grainy and somewhat imprecise, the resulting images can be seen as impressions rather than as fixed and detailed certainties. This "unfixed" quality reflects my own questionings: in our highly urbanized society will fragile processes of growth prevail against onslaughts of industrialization?
The heirloom plants in this garden are our fellow beings. They represent the basis for our web of life. Plants are what we eat and what we breathe. We have evolved from this natural landscape and we are sustained by it.
