This series originated from my study of 19th century engravings created as part of the Mexican Boundary Survey—the results of which marked the US-Mexico border after the Treaty of Guadalupe in 1848. The engravings are based on plein-air sketches made by a team of surveyors who found themselves challenged by how to represent such a vast and geographically diverse expanse of land. These works attempt to evoke a moment when the future of a region was completely unwritten. Below shows the process of transforming the original image from engraving to carbon drawing to silkscreen edition.
View from Gomez Peak, carbon on paper, 72 x 90 inches, 2019
Mexican Boundary Survey, Vol. 1, W.H. Emory, 1857
View from Gomez Peak, carbon on paper, 72 x 90 inches, 2019
View from Gomez Peak, silkscreen on paper, 33 x 24 inches, 2022