Vortex employs natural history museum specimens to address loss in the natural world through species extinction and climate change. Exotic and strange, these dusty and bottled creatures are suspended in time through isolation and preservation. Examination positions the fragile specimens in the discourse of science, while they simultaneously act as a locus of wonder, beauty, and loss. Vignetting creates an ambiguous space that can be understood as a vortex into which they vanish, the examining lens of science and photography, or a sphere floating in a dark field. Alternately poignant and wondrous, these images express both my delight in the natural and my sense of impending loss of much that is beautiful in the world.
Special thanks to the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History for access to their collections.