XANTHRA DUFRANE

Cambria  is a meditation on the American landscape, its past, present and uncertain future.  My connection to the land began when I discovered a creek filled with marine fossils from the Cretaceous period near my childhood home in central New Jersey. The creek cut through the forest floor, exposing strata of colored clay and mud. Along its banks lay the rubble of time: evidence of an ancient sea, worm-holed clam shells, and squid pens turned to amber glass. This experience sparked a fascination with how land preserves its history in the geological record akin to a monumental form of photography. I return to these lands at the margins because they inspire me to consider timescales that exceed the anthropocentric, while recognizing the violence of humanity’s impact in the sliver of time we inhabit.