LIFE IN MOTION
STRIPES
Archival pigment prints:
ARCHIVE
LIFE IN MOTION: WINTER, 2024
Improv Oracle
15 x 11 in
Big Star
11 x 17 in
Stay Tuned
11 x 17 in
Memory Cache
17 x 11 in
Love Seat
11 x 17 in.
Reservoir
11 x 15 in
Mojave Narrows
11 x 17 in
Desert Message Board
11 x 17 in
Stack
11 x 17 in
Looker
11 x 15 in
Salton Sea
11 x 17 in
Oceanside
11 x 17 in
Backeddy
11 x 17 in
Germ
11 x 17 in
Lisa Nankivil embarks on a journey inspired by chance encounters.
Her keen observation ignites a deep sense of inquiry, giving rise to new work that vividly brings these moments to life. Venturing into the captivating landscapes east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, she immerses herself in the visual potency of places like Death Valley, the Mojave Desert, and Joshua Tree. Amidst the stark natural beauty of these regions, she considers the environmental damage wrought by human activities such as the boom and bust cycles of mining and tourism. Yet, within these landscapes, she observes echoes of history that reverberate with contemporary aspirations and the resilient communities who inhabit and repurpose these spaces over time.
Nankivil embraces the agility of her iPhone and tablet as essential tools for working on the road. She meticulously crafts archival pigment prints to preserve the stories of these landscapes and their icons even in the face of the relentless march of nature and human-induced destruction. With a steadfast commitment to authenticity, she refrains from staging the photographs, instead allowing inherent stories to shine through her interpretation of the emotional timbre of the place. This process involves a nuanced layering of techniques, beginning with desaturation to strip away color and reveal the essence of each scene in grayscale. From this foundation, she deliberately reintroduces color, drawing inspiration from the dynamic interplay between human intervention and the natural environment.