What Is Below (2025 - Ongoing)

A study of landscape and the human footprint as seen from above. The project draws inspiration from those moments while landing in an airplane, when the ground slowly comes into focus. During my time as an alpinist, I encountered a poem by René Daumal that further shaped the foundation of this work:

“What is above knows what is below but what is below does not know what is above… One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer but one has seen.

There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know.

—René Daumal, “A treatise of analogical alpinism”

There is no singular or intentional statement here. My hope is to present a spectrum of human involvement within our landscapes, from a small dirt road winding through marshland to an overcrowded housing development. Seeing from great distances mirrors the act of reflection, allowing what may feel ordinary at ground level to be reconsidered. From above, one edges closer to stepping outside the day-to-day view, where familiarity can dull awareness of what surrounds us. For me, this perspective serves as a moment to pause and think, taking in the full picture.