Sara Ferguson

Many different kinds of truths can be told of a place. The changes that a landscape displays visually reflect not only what is there but what has been lost, it’s value dependent on what it affords us. I rarely have any prior connection to the places I photograph but there is a familiarity in them. A past intimacy with that kind of place that makes me feel like belong there. Details give form to personal histories, structures provide references for memories, and specific landscapes allow for a universal language about loss and hope, truth and beauty. During my time at the Taft­ Nicholson Center I hoped to photograph the Centennial Valley in order to explore these themes as they relate to the specific region. The Centennial Valley was of particular interest to me because of the unique approach to land management that exists there. While in residency I documented the industries that hold a shared responsibility to the landscape: environmental conservation, tourism and ranching. Studying these connections allowed me to consider my relationship to this kind of landscape, and to examine the personal memories that come from being in a place that is both familiar and unfamiliar. The work I completed during my time as artist in residence helped me further explore how themes relating to place and memory can be conveyed in a photograph.

Click here to view Sara's Centennial Valley Gallery

Click here to read about Sara's experience at the Taft-Nicholson Center