Fata Morgana is the complex and unusual illusion in which light bends at the horizon and heavily distorts distant images. This type of illusion is rare, but happens when multiple energy sources perfectly collide in the atmosphere. The term derives from an old italian tale where this illusion was seen frequently in the Strait of Messina and thought to be a spiritual force luring sailors to their death.
This series of single photographs and timelapse composite pieces focuses on harnessing time, color and space, not only for the sake of their expressive potential, but to give these qualities agency in a greater social context. The integrity of earth’s atmosphere has undergone drastic shifts across the globe, which can be attributed to the increase in human consumption and imbalance between the natural and civilized world. These phenomena are indicative of an altered social perception of landscape, ownership and also a clashing of two forces. Phoenix, with its full-spectrum sunsets and extreme heat that produces dust storms, has a heightened sense of these concepts. Interpretations of these things through an aesthetic lense creates a meditative entrance point in which to understand our cognitive relationship to the environment. A storm is not a single entity; it’s a figurative collection of colors blended into the changing landscape – a gorgeous and grotesque palette of imagery colliding inside the subconscious of society.
Contemporary Forum Emerging Artist Grant Winners
April 2014
Phoenix Art Museum, Lyons Gallery | Phoenix, Arizona
Fata Morgana
September 2014
Bokeh Gallery | Phoenix, Arizona
PHX / BG
ASU Art Museum Combine Gallery | Phoenix, Arizona
Students’ City Cultural Center Gallery | Belgrade, Serbia