CLAIRISSA STEPHENS 

Interior West Statement

           The Northern Nevada high desert landscape has been the source of my research over the past few years. I am continually struck with awe by the vastness of the space, as well as the abundant ecological variety the desert environment provides. Traversing these remote landscapes is imperative to my process as it presents an opportunity to focus on the infinite intricacies of the land. Richard Long conceptualized the act of the walk; he believes that a walk expresses freedom and space, “and the knowledge of it can live in the imagination of anyone… A walk is just one more layer, a mark, laid upon the thousands of other layers of human and geographic history on the surface of the land.” Walking in the landscape influences perception, thought, and physical experience. This creates a link between physical and mental investigation of the landscape. In his concept of experiential continuum, geographer Yi-Fu Tuan proposes that feeling and thought are inextricably connected. My work draws from this notion by proposing that encounters with the natural world are essential to the human experience. I am interested in exploring the fusion of perception, emotion and physical experience.

          In this body of work, I investigate ideas such as memory, nostalgia, and space through a variety of modes and media, rooted in the practice of cartography. We are constantly navigating our world and locating ourselves in relationship to what we perceive. Topographical maps are one way of understanding the landscape, from shifts in scale to visualizing spatial complexity. By using systems of mapping, I hope to encourage viewers to contemplate their sense of place and relationship to the landscape. I seek to embody layers of information and trace the connections formed about a place through a variety of specific materials. There is an intentional metaphor and meaning behind each material I use. For instance, the stones function as a dimensional metaphor for place, which refers to Robert Smithson’s theories of nonsites. Visualizing these engagements and reflections of space reinforces the experiential relationship to this seemingly infinite landscape.