2018, Rives BFK, gouache, gum arabic, kitakata, ink, print dim. 25.75” x 19.75”, framed dim. 29” x 23”

This piece in part of a series by Dm Witman called Index:

“With Index, I draw upon my past experiences as a field

biologist to process grieving around the impending loss we

are facing as the result of climate change. These

photograms serve as a record for what once was of the flora

of a small patch of intertidal marsh of the St. George River.

Reminiscent of herbarium records, the flora are memorialized

and serve as a baseline against the impending change of

increasing temperatures and rising waters. My small area of

intertidal marsh will not be spared and will bear impact of

these changes.

Regarding memento mori, Geoffrey Batchen noted,“...Such

objects seek to remember a loved one, not as someone now

dead, but as someone who was once alive, young and vital,

with a future before them. In this kind of object, they will

always have that future, a comforting thought, perhaps, for

those who have been left behind.”

It is my hope that art such as this can serve as a conduit for a collective experience

to develop a stronger sense of love and commitment to the places, the systems,

the flora & fauna that inspire, nurture, and sustain us.” - DM Witman