Tess Stroh: Measuring an Era

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”22787″ alignment=”center” onclick=”link_image”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”22786″ alignment=”center” onclick=”link_image”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”22788″ alignment=”center” onclick=”link_image”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Measuring an Era
2020
Digital photographs

An hourglass is used to measure the passage of time. Its presence connotes the loss of time or the culmination of a specific event. Placing this piece in the context of environmental degradation is eerily apt. Initially, I was aiming to use the hourglass to measure the rate of land loss, sea-level rise, and other environmental threats in Southeast Louisiana. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was relocated to my parent’s home in Northern New Mexico. The lens through which I was seeing the passage of time and approaching environmental threats had changed. Spending the majority of my time split between New Orleans and Taos, New Mexico, I often discuss and ponder the differences between the two rather than the similarities. Whether it be their landscapes, their cultures, or their economies, the two places seemed to have little relation. The environmental threats they face – water in Louisiana and fire in New Mexico – are opposites. However, when I looked past the surface I realized that these two places are facing the same issue, despite its opposing manifestations. They are both battling the passage of time, which in this day and age means the deterioration of the natural world. These photographs call attention to these looming risks which, although different, stem from the same global phenomenon and exist in the same instance of time. For me, the pandemic and the consequential quarantine have forced me to reevaluate my previous relationship with and understanding of time. Even though our current isolation seems to slow time, the crisis at hand is a stark reminder that time waits for no one. We have no excuse to postpone action against the global threats we all face. I have come to the conclusion that it feels impossible to fully comprehend the passage of time. This message is transferable to the environmental movement. If all you can prepare for and change is the present moment, why would you not act now? Does time serve as an adequate excuse for inaction when you never really know how much you have left?

Individual Titles:

Tess Stroh
Measuring an Era: Flooded
2020
Digital photograph

Tess Stroh
Measuring an Era: Balanced
2020
Digital photograph

Tess Stroh
Measuring an Era: Scorched
2020
Digital photograph[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]