the present of my life looks different under trees is an immersive installation of cyanotypes that has been exhibited at BOX13 ArtSpace and HCC Southwest in Houston, TX. A handmade cyanotype accordion-fold book and 5 by 7 inch prints were made to accompany this exhibition and are available to order here.

the present of my life looks different under trees is a quote from a passage in Annie Dillard’s “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek” in which she muses on the differences between “soft-shelled humans” and the trees with their bark shields and immense lifespans. Trees ‘remember’ the weather through their growth rings and, in fossilized remains, the pattern of these rings is used to study past climates. What will current, living trees tell the future?

This installation consists of sixty 11’ high panels, each one representing a year of Houston weather data and encircling the Back BOX like a grove of trees. Each varies in width based on the rainfall intensity, as measured by the number of days on which the total rainfall was greater than 3 inches: the point at which street flooding occurs. The panel color, from ice-blue to blue-black, represents the average nighttime temperature for that year. At first glance the immersive nature of this cyanotype installation provides a cool environment as Houston temperatures fall into Fall. However, a closer look gives the bigger picture: more shocking than any graph, this forest-like environment shows the story of rising temperatures and intensifying rain events.

For more information on the data behind this installation please continue to the story and data page.