About My Work
The transitory nature of life is the underlying theme of my work. I use light and shadow as art material and metaphor.
Most of my work involves photography: from small intimate photographs on paper to large-scale digital prints on ephemeral fabrics and acrylic. I use the camera and post-production software as tools, transforming reality into landscapes and portraits of hyperreality, scientific fantasy, and mystery.
In my outdoor installations, American Luminist paintings of the 19th century are reimagined as translucent “spatial maps” of light and shadow. Western landscapes of a different kind, they focus not on the horizon or grand view, but on the indigenous details of a place: the living plant material.
Intellectually, my work is located at the intersection of botany, art, and aesthetics with a focus on California landscape and drought-tolerant native flora. Although not overtly political, my work raises questions about habitat conservation and water as the new “black gold.” I am deeply involved in the California native plant movement.
Pamela Burgess
2015