Gowanus Bivalvia

I live a block away from the infamous Gowanus canal in Brooklyn. Once a thriving industrial transportation hub, the canal is now best known as one of the most polluted waterways in the United States. This series of letterpress prints, started with a collection of found objects gathered around the Gowanus area.

I named the series "Bivalvia" after a type of oyster, cultivated in the canal by early dutch settlers, when it's waters were much cleaner than today. The mollusks, like the objects, were buried in sediment, probably to stay safe from predators.

After taking photographs in the studio, I manipulated the images on the computer and made polymer plates from the resulting motifs. These were then printed on an old Vandercook proof press. There are, no doubt countless layers of hidden artifacts beneath the sediment of the canal, each one with it's own unique story. My objects were recently deposited but each one harkens back to the industries that grew up along the canal in the 1860's, and are in some way responsible for the environmental issues we have inherited.

+

"Gas", 2015. Letterpress print on paper.

14" x 17". Edition of 30.

+

"Coal", 2015. Letterpress print on paper.

14" x 17". Edition of 30.

+

Detail Coal

+

"Oil", 2015. Letterpress print on paper.

14" x 17". Edition of 30.

+