Photo of collection object Entasis (xylem)
Joo, Michael. Entasis (xylem), 2016. Silver nitrate and epoxy ink on canvas, 132 × 96 × 2 in. (335.3 × 243.8 × 5.1 cm). Gift of Ruth and William S. Ehrlich, 2017.11. © artist or artist's estate.

Entasis (xylem)

2016

Michael Joo

American, born 1966

Contemporary Art

This photographic work is based on scanned imagesof the gigantic trees located on Sapelo Island, off the coast of Georgia. The island is unique for both its ecological diversity and its layered histories as a former and current home to Native populations, white plantation-owning families, and a prominent Gullah-Geechee community (descendants of enslaved West African and West Indian people).

Michael Joo preserves the Lowcountry landscape through a technique that recalls early photographic processes such as the daguerreotype, the silvery surface resulting in an image that comes in and out of view. As rising sea levels threaten the natural environment of the coastline and contribute to the displacement of Gullah-Geechee residents, Joo’s work poignantly captures the fragility and resilience of human life.
Maker/Artist
Joo, Michael
Classification
Painting
Formatted Medium
Silver nitrate and epoxy ink on canvas
Dimensions
132 × 96 × 2 in. (335.3 × 243.8 × 5.1 cm)
Departments
Contemporary Art
Accession Number
2017.11
Credit Line
Gift of Ruth and William S. Ehrlich
Rights Statement
© artist or artist's estate
Dominant Colors

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