Claimed: Landscape

Claimed: Landscape As a sixth generation Idahoan, the landscape of the West influences my work, it’s a part of my personal and cultural history, it is the geography of my genes. I grew up in two very distinct areas of Idaho: the scenic area of Stanley Basin, Idaho—which sits at the base of the Sawtooth Mountain Range—and the town of Idaho Falls—a community that revolves around agriculture, religion and nuclear research. Living in these two regions gave me the perspective to appreciate the delicate balance of the scenic and the mundane and recognize how they overlap one another. I am exploring in this work the way communities and individuals stake claims on the picturesque landscape and place it within the conventional structures of the community. By making photographs of these claimed territories, I am staking my own claim to my heritage, the western landscape. The manner in which we depict this scenery has become the identity and perception of the American West, symbolized by wilderness, mountain peaks, crystal clear rivers, and big game animals.