other ends | Lily Slater

You can only see something for the first time once. As a new visitor of the United States I am overwhelmed with this country’s extensive beauty and my series ‘Other Ends’ depicts my first interactions with this land.

I have always been lured by landscapes and nature. Whether it’s the forest meeting the ocean across the west coast or the unique ecosystems along the walls of Utah’s canyon cliffs, this continent has left indelible impressions on me. Most of these pieces are collections of places I’ve visited in The United States and this series documents my exploration of this country. As an outsider I aim for the viewer to see not only the subjects themselves but the multitude of first-impressions the imagery has left on me. By using the format of film photography I limited myself to single takes of the depicted subjects to ensure that the creative process occurred during my first experiences with the subject matter.

Utilizing the method of multiple exposures, there is a suggestion of overlapping facets and truths to a single experience. Perhaps the present is a composite of many layers, and with this style of photographs the layers can be peeled away to reveal impressions otherwise inaccessible.

I have just begun my explorations and I am excited to share how I see it.