Emerging From the Wreckage

Medium Description

Photograph on Digital archival pigment print

Artist Description

The roots of a tree are revealed after it was toppled over during the high winds of Hurricane Helen when it came through Aiken, SC, USA, in the fall of 2024. This photo of pine roots was taken almost four months after the storm, as sumps and other debris were still being cleaned up around the area. The saturation of colors comes from the light snow that was melting on the Carolina clay around the roots. 

Like many abstract photos, this image has many possibilities of what it could be. Even after telling people it’s roots of a fallen tree, they still say they see many different things. Some of them have been a snake, a dragon, two hearts, and even a glowing fire. Though, it was one person’s comment about a dragon that got me thinking about what to title the photo. Because of the destruction from the storm, I started seeing this as a dragon emerging from the wreckage it had wrought.