WHALE FALL 

By Emma Ressel

The FOUR-D residency between the Prattsville Art Center and the Lexington House provided an exciting opportunity for me to work on a project I had been thinking about for a long time. I wanted to make still life photographs that depict a “whale fall”—  the oasis of life that blooms around a decomposing whale carcass when it falls to the bottom of the ocean. This project will fit into a larger series of photographs I am making where I layer taxidermy and photographic prints in the landscape to create nonsensical worlds. The Lexington House, with its cavernous, light-filled rooms and sublime, decomposing walls seemed like the perfect place to make this project. Over the course of my week I learned about the history of flooding in the area. With the realization that the Lexington house had been at times filled with water, I began to see it in a new way. I am so thankful that the residency allowed me space and time to carry out a project that is meaningful to me, as well as the opportunity to engage with such an awe-inspiring building and surrounding area.

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