Light Waves

Like many artists, I spent much of the pandemic both observing what was happening to our planet and reassessing how my artwork related to our current world. Since 1976, my photography has followed in the tradition of American landscape photography, always with the dual purpose of sharing natural wonders along with an urgent plea to preserve the beauty of these wild places. Whether depicting a specific location, or species, nature photography has historically served the purpose of showcasing what was worth protecting, while motivating people to take action. My own photography has focused on the interface of land and water, specifically, Lake Superior. I did not want to see Superior’s shores turn into strip cities like has happened along most of the other Great Lakes.

I was born in 1954, towards the end of the “baby boom.” While the birth rate has dropped since then, the actual number of people added to the planet each year has grown tremendously— far beyond what the planet can support. The ramifications of that are upending our planet and our lives faster, and more irrevocably than ever before, with climate change being one of the more pressing consequences. When we look around in our daily lives, things may look normal, but we sense they are not, and the daily news confirms our reasons for anxiety. I wanted my artwork to make a statement about where we are in this moment, our fears, and our continual need for nature and beauty in order to stay whole and healthy.

Two years ago, I began a project titled Light Waves—Abstract Photographs of Reflections from Lake Superior. The images are a response to the fracturing of our planet’s ecosystems. The often-disorienting results mirror our difficulty in maintaining our equilibrium in a time of unprecedented change. I gathered images from around the lake and from its largest island, Isle Royale, unlocking a portal into an astonishing universe where light dances with water, creating the illusion of three-dimensional objects and spaces, simultaneously acknowledging our planet’s horrors and loss, while also revealing the beauty remaining to be discovered within the shards, providing a place of refuge.

Craig Blacklock’s book, LIGHT WAVES—Abstract Photographs of Reflections From Lake Superior is now available. An exhibition from the book is running at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre’s Museum until the end of January 2023.

More information at: craigblacklock.art