Catherine Nelson
Passing Light
2026

Passing Light consists of a series of flags, which act as a visual meditation on the brief and dazzling compositions generated by the ocean and all of its floating passengers. The pigment printed flags contain images culled from a brief ten-minute photo shoot on the Atlantic, which revealed a sublime range of atmospheres, colors, patterns, and depths of field in each frame. Overlaying these images, abstract elements juxtapose the rigid lines of 20th century architecture (beams, studs, reinforcement mesh) with linework implying the meandering path of someone unhurriedly observing the water.

My work reflects a curiosity about materials and their origins in the landscape. I collect, observe, and compose with natural dyes, patinas, objects, and drawings. I take cues from riverbank clutter and industrial waterways, mineral hues and local geology, lumber species and fishing traps. I arrange both made and found objects into vignettes that explore dynamics of agency and material.

I am interested in physical thinking and embodied memory: a craftsperson’s expertise, a dancer’s improvised phrase. Having grown up in Louisiana, issues of toxicity and climate change also concern me; turning my attention to my senses soothes personal and shared grief. Weaving these influences together, my work serves as an experimental re-mapping, a space to practice new ways of relating to my surroundings.