Grant Summary
Support for travel to Japan to develop a photography and sound based installation involving the economy of Matsutake mushrooms in Oregon and Japan.
Keywords
Artist Statement
My projects address the intersections of environmental, social, and economic concerns, reflecting a deep interest in the improvised connections between communities and the surrounding natural world. The work combines photography’s capacity to create what Walker Evans described as “lyrical and transcendent documents” with various modes of visual storytelling from published photo books to experiential mixed media installations. Projects have often involved collaborations with writers, scientists, musicians, and community-based organizations. My recent project, “The Mushroom Camps,” examines how individuals and communities fashion an informal economy by way of commercial mushroom foraging deep within the pine forests of central Oregon.
  • Joy with daughter Belinda with a Matsutake in the Deschutes National Forest, OR , Eirik Johnson Courtesy of G. Gibson Gallery, Seattle.

  • Abandoned Shack, Mushroom Camp, Crescent Lake, OR , Eirik Johnson Courtesy of G. Gibson Gallery, Seattle.