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The Last Golden Coast

“The forest burned,
An igneous dustcloud,
And astral ash wrapped it up
Until time and lava awarded it
the prize of transparent stone. ”

— Pablo Neruda

Stones of the Sky by Pablo Neruda and the Light and Space Art Movement of the West Coast was my inspiration for this series. I had recently moved back to Southern California after spending several years on the East Coast. Reengaging with the terrain, I was confronted by the passage of time; the dignified shore, desert flora and stones transformed by fire, water, wind, and… waiting. They had been “awarded the prize of transparent stone”. This poetic lens graces the surreal and the serene landscapes, revealed by magnetic color shifts throughout the series.
- Renee Torres