Bull Kelp 1
The Oregon coast is a place of dramatic beauty, where the sheer force of the Pacific meets the rugged shoreline. Nereocystis luetkeana—Bull Kelp form lush, underwater cathedrals along the West Coast, anchoring themselves to rocky seafloors and rising to the surface to capture the sun. These kelp forests are vital ecosystems that provide a critical habitat for hundreds of species, including sea otters, sea lions and whales and nursery grounds for countless marine organisms.
This series documents the unsettling transformation occurring just beneath the surface: the catastrophic decline of native Bull Kelp forests. These "sequoias of the sea" are magnificent, yet they are rapidly disappearing. Nearly two-thirds of Oregon’s kelp forests have vanished in the last decade due to unprecedented marine heatwaves and ecological imbalances, such as the unchecked proliferation of sea urchins.
These images focus on the aftermath of their collapse: the haunting, sculptural remains of these forests as they wash up tangled, and abandoned on the shore. I am interested in the juxtaposition of the kelp’s former life as a "fast-growing ocean giant" and its current state as a fragile, discarded husk. By documenting the twisted, stalks, bulbous pneumatic (floats), and blade-like ribbons, I transform these organic remains into sculptural, often tragic, portraits. These images are not just documentation of decay; they are a requiem for a lost habitat—a visual eulogy to a critical habitat that is collapsing.
By capturing these images, I hope to create a bridge between the unseen underwater disaster and our daily, terrestrial experience, turning a walk on the beach into a meditation on environmental loss and the urgent need for ocean stewardship. I am exploring the intersection of natural beauty and climate-driven destruction.
I have rendered the kelp in hues of grey and blue as a visual metaphor for their loss of vibrancy as they decay on the sand. These images were taken in Newport and Otter Rock Oregon.
This series documents the unsettling transformation occurring just beneath the surface: the catastrophic decline of native Bull Kelp forests. These "sequoias of the sea" are magnificent, yet they are rapidly disappearing. Nearly two-thirds of Oregon’s kelp forests have vanished in the last decade due to unprecedented marine heatwaves and ecological imbalances, such as the unchecked proliferation of sea urchins.
These images focus on the aftermath of their collapse: the haunting, sculptural remains of these forests as they wash up tangled, and abandoned on the shore. I am interested in the juxtaposition of the kelp’s former life as a "fast-growing ocean giant" and its current state as a fragile, discarded husk. By documenting the twisted, stalks, bulbous pneumatic (floats), and blade-like ribbons, I transform these organic remains into sculptural, often tragic, portraits. These images are not just documentation of decay; they are a requiem for a lost habitat—a visual eulogy to a critical habitat that is collapsing.
By capturing these images, I hope to create a bridge between the unseen underwater disaster and our daily, terrestrial experience, turning a walk on the beach into a meditation on environmental loss and the urgent need for ocean stewardship. I am exploring the intersection of natural beauty and climate-driven destruction.
I have rendered the kelp in hues of grey and blue as a visual metaphor for their loss of vibrancy as they decay on the sand. These images were taken in Newport and Otter Rock Oregon.