Nature nominee

Cumberland Island is an untamed place where human inhabitance defers to the flora and fauna that thrive there. The size of Manhattan, Cumberland sits on the Georgia/Florida border, and is the southernmost barrier island of the United States. Since the 1800s, Cumberland has had a storied history of human inhabitants, including slaves, farmers, and the wealthy Carnegie Family who used Cumberland as their playground well into the 20th century. An island caught in time, Cumberland is populated by great canopies of trees draped in layers of bark, moss, and leaves, nature’s way of recording time. While a few humble stewards still live on Cumberland, they live simply, exercising extreme deference to nature. They know that ultimately the island will reclaim her expansive beaches and dense forests. I read about Cumberland many years ago and was intrigued by the stories of her untouched wilderness. When I finally visited Cumberland, I found intimate beauty and a deep sense of emotion in her landscapes. I found that nature, not humanity, provides a consistent structure to her chaos, and I discovered that on this tiny swatch of land nature thrives in abundance and will ultimately prevail above all else.

Photographer Jessica Cantlin ventures to remote locations, capturing the striking beauty of areas most of us will never visit. Her endless sense of wonder and dedication to the road not taken creates dramatic narratives in her work where weather, land, light and sky act as characters and guides. By documenting the simultaneous peacefulness and dramatic tension of these tenuous regions, Cantlin helps us appreciate and respect the power and importance of the natural world. Cantlin’s imagery reminds us of the fragility of the earth and of the urgency to confront climate change. The works included in Latitude are from the artist’s recent travels to Iceland and Lençóis Maranhenses, Brazil. A stark contrast in location, Cantlin’s photographs explore the ephemeral quality of light and color in regions that are susceptible to dramatic and transient weather conditions. As part of her continuing study of the role that weather plays in how we experience the landscape, these photographs act as witness to the sublime beauty found in some of these most vulnerable environments. "Latitude" is currently being exhibited at Winston Wachter Fine Art in Seattle. A list of additional awards, exhibitions, and accomplishments can be found at http://www.feedmywanderlust.com/curriculim-vitae