A Sparrow on the Floor of a Cathedral is a series of B&W inkjet photographs of underwater geologic elements, the seafloor, and marine creatures printed on high quality matte paper and bordered with information relevant to the image, such as the vessel, sponsoring organization and where/when I came upon the scene. Linking the images to physical reality, these details nod to the work of nineteenth-century U.S. geological survey photographers like Thomas O’Sullivan. The framing and lack of color hearken back to the past, promising a landscape; however upon closer inspection, mountains turn into seamounts, birds into fish and flora and ground cover into coral or sand. Most people will never scuba dive, but my curiosity and interest in science motivated me to explore what lies beneath the surface. A Sparrow on the Floor of a Cathedral reveals an unknown realm; boundless as the American west, enticing for its beauty yet jeopardized by colonial development, pollution, and extraction of resources. The series illuminates the interconnected network of marine life, and the persistent threats to it. My goal is to create a pause, a collective inhale for the audience to consider the ways in which their basic functions, relationships and understanding of aquatic ecosystems worldwide may change after an encounter with the deep.
Jann Rosen-Queralt (Baltimore, MD) is an inter-disciplinary artist whose artworks reveal the poetic nature of water, exploring social and ecological relationships and connecting them to universal themes. Some projects of note include The Ocean, an installation addressing the cosmic makeup of the sea; Argo, an immersive sculpture focused on the power of water; and Confluence, a kinetic work celebrating water flow at a water treatment facility. An avid scuba diver and researcher, Rosen-Queralt integrates structures, biological processes, and environmental systems into her work to trigger public action and awareness. Recent research includes a grant-funded trip to study Western landscape photographs at the Center for Creative Photography in Arizona (2022) and an exploratory art and science residency aboard a research vessel in the Arctic Circle (2023). Artworks developed as a result of these trips will be exhibited in 2024 and 2025 respectively. Last year, with financial support from a Maryland State Arts Council grant, Rosen-Queralt self-published her first book, Heart Beating Beneath the Earth, which includes photographs of some of her sculptures alongside written responses from over two dozen individual contributors. Most recently, her animation Arriving from A Great Distance, which follows the journey of a seed pod as it travels across global water currents, will be displayed at the Parkway Theater as part of the 2024 Artscape festival.
www.jannrosenqueralt.com
@jannrosenqueralt1358
