In my studio practice I take the photograph as a starting point for works that physically change, disrupt or activate the image plane—I fold and cut the images, layer images together, even introduce materials such as concrete and paint. Often I photograph the natural landscape of the Western United States, and although I have lived in New York City for 15 years, I have never taken photographs here. The Harlem Postcards project offered me an opportunity to turn my lens towards the urban environment, specifically in Harlem.
I came across St. Nicholas Park, between 127th and 141st Streets, and was struck by this impressive rock outcropping paired with the stone wall in the foreground. St. Nicholas Park is one of Harlem’s several “ribbon parks”, which was built on a rugged mass of rock, following the steep and irregular topography of Northern Manhattan. Afterwards I learned the site of this photograph is very near the “Point of Rocks” where General George Washington had positioned himself during the Battle of Harlem Heights in 1776.
Once I had printed this photograph of the rock outcropping in the darkroom, I brought it back to my studio and placed the second photograph on top of it. I took the second photograph while on a day hike in the Coyote Buttes North area of the Paria Canyon-Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness, in southwestern Utah.