Tanya Marcuse

“Portent began just a few miles from my home in New York State as we faced a global pandemic. The images arise from the ecological specificity and vulnerability of the region during a period marked by extreme heat and wildfire smoke. I work without Photoshop manipulation or AI. Instead, I create physical, experiential images in the field, deeply connected to place, and to the plants and animals encountered throughout the valley. I stage scenes in swamps, rivers and vernal pools, collaborating with weather and shifting light. My work is inspired by the sixteenth-century Augsburg Wunderzeichenbuch, a compendium of omens, celestial events and apocalyptic wonders. Photography occupies a similar threshold between fact and fiction. By working within this narrow space between the possible and the impossible, I try to cultivate a way of seeing that is responsive to the transformations shaping our world. The project rests on the understanding that we are not separate from our environment but part of it, our fates inseparably entwined. Book of Miracles is a trilogy unfolding across three interconnected bodies of work: Kingdom, Portent and Emblem, each operating at a distinct scale. Kingdom (157 × 315 cm) consists of monumental photographs constructed in my outdoor studio on a wooden framework using local flora and fauna, paint, glitter and, at times, fire. Portent (81 × 96 cm) turns its attention to the surrounding landscape, grounding the work in actual ecosystems while allowing it to edge toward the impossible. Emblem (23 × 18 cm) draws inspiration from alchemical illustration and devotional imagery, occupying a space between ritual and memorial.” – Tanya Marcuse