From Beginning to End 

In May of 2015, I visited the Big Bend region of Texas for the first time. This area, often called the “Trans-Pecos”, is a sparsely populated, arid region dominated by several geographic features including the Chihuahuan Desert, the Chisos Mountains as well as the Davis Mountains. Importantly, the Rio Grande River, which defines the US border with Mexico, also courses through the region. From Beginning to End, is devoted to capturing the raw beauty of the Trans-Pecos region and the impact of people on it. 

Having grown up in the Midwest, surrounded by trees and lakes, the Trans-Pecos seems more akin to what I imagine a lunar landscape to be like with its lack of trees and water but abundance of rocky terrain. Struck by the conflict occurring between the people who are carving out an existence and the relentless efforts of nature to reclaim for itself the places occupied and transformed by people, this project photographically captures the give-and-take evident in this conflict.

An important stimulus for this project was the aloneness I felt while traveling through the vast stretches of open space: a feeling of isolation and disconnection from my day-to-day world that is difficult to capture in words. Exploring these feelings with images of empty roads, abandoned homesteads and the detritus affiliated with occupation, I learned to embrace the non-pristine view that includes the intrusion of artifacts like power lines and fences, accepting these elements as totems of modern life.

As a result of multiple visits to the area, I have gained insights that have completely replaced the expectations and prejudices I previously harbored. This acceptance has allowed me to develop a project that is infused with irony, nostalgia and hope.