Beyond Time

Artist Statement

My rich sienna-coloured infrared photographs of the tropical and subtropical rainforests in Queensland capture the deep time of Earth, when Gondwanaland was the supercontinent, and dinosaurs roamed. These rainforests are like a time capsule, preserving what life looked like during that primordial era. This series is the culmination of three journeys to the Daintree, Sunshine Coast Hinterland, and Gold Coast Hinterland, including Springbrook National Park and Mount Tamborine National Park.

Using infrared photography, I spotlight the ancient flora and fauna, winding rivers, and cascading waterfalls of these Australian rainforests. The siennas and burnt umber tones evoke the red earth and rusty rocks that have borne witness to eons of geologic time. These tones also lend the images a sepia-like quality, imbuing them with a sense of history. (Fun fact: the Daintree was named after geologist and photographer Richard Daintree!)

These rainforests hold profound spiritual and cultural significance for Indigenous communities, and I hope these images convey a sense of respect and reverence for their connection to the land. Through these photographs, I want to inspire others to reflect on the deep time of the rainforests and consider our place in the grand scheme of geologic and human history. Protecting and preserving these landscapes is crucial so that future generations can appreciate their majesty.

This series invites us into liminal realms, where we can pause to quietly witness the beauty around us and the endless stretch of time - backwards and forwards - that we are lucky enough to experience for a singular moment.

Where Before Time focuses on the past, Beyond Time shifts to the future, contemplating the early evolution of AI image-generation software. These new works parallel the primordial Earth in its first stirrings of life. In this vision, AI takes on the role of an early organism, hinting at its potential to evolve far beyond recognition—an echo of the vast evolutionary timeline from dinosaurs to human existence. Together, the two series explore not only the origins of life on Earth but also the beginnings of a new, unseen intelligence, blurring the boundaries between ancient history and an optimistic future.