Welcome to no. 53 in our series Poignant Pics where our editor, Diana Nicholette Jeon, writes about Anne Eder’s image, “Found Structure #5”

A Different Kind of Island Song

"Plum Island, a wild and fantastical sand beach, is thrown up by the joint power of winds and waves into the thousand wanton figures of a snow drift (1).”

– Joshua Coffin (1845)

This work, Found Structure #5, by Anne Eder, is from her recent series, Mysteries of Plum Island. A barrier island located off the northeast coast of Massachusetts, it is approximately 11 miles (18 km) in length, stemming from just south of Salisbury to just across from Pavillion Beach in Ipswich (home to the best clams in existence, in my humble opinion!) The name is thought to be of local origin; the journal of Margaret Smith (1678-9) related it as having gotten its name for rare wild beach plums found there. It is also known for its purple sands at high tide, which (according to Wikipedia) get their color from tiny crystals of pink pyrope garnet. 

Although it may seem that the island is uninhabited from these descriptions, a section containing residences and businesses is technically part of the picturesque town of Newburyport. The rest of the land consists of beaches and a state park, in addition to two pristine wildlife refuges, one run by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and another by the MA Audubon Society. 

In a similar though more dire mindset than historian Coffin, Eder said, "The reef was forged in the crucible of climate change, and its existence is threatened by it now. The urgency of my documentation is heightened by the fact that at present rates of rising temperatures, and given the occurrence of increasingly violent storms, the reef could disappear beneath the ocean waves in a shockingly short time, leaving the mainland unprotected and hundreds of bird species without nesting areas."

Anne views her project as both a fictional and factual documentation of the island. In its entirety, this project includes photographs of select detritus and landscapes, video clips, and a systematic collection of physical artifacts. Eder documents these as she happens onto them, whether they consist of objects or stones in an arrangement or more complicated structures. The image I have shown here is representative of the latter. She considers it "a desire to interact with the land in some way, a reaction to it that goes beyond words - intuitive responses, a very pure interaction or collaboration that indicates absorption, engrossment, connection, and narrative or meditative action." 

However, Eder wanted more connection between the work and the actual place. So she prints the landscape photographs using either a salt process with silver or lithium palladium, both on paper pre-soaked in Plum Island seawater. Besides the direct connection to the island, these techniques give the work interesting splits in warm and cool tones. Anne believes that her methodology allows her to show the viewer her island impressions in a tactile and expressive manner and that she may inspire others to steward the land in doing so. She says, “My interest is not in literal documentation but in seeking out or creating narrative.”

The climate crisis has already happened and will continue to worsen; our time to act is short. The future of the planet and our children and grandchildren is in danger. People must speak out, raise community awareness and thereby impact how we treat our 'aina (land.) Bravo, Anne, for doing work that calls our attention to this situation.

(1) Coffin, Joshua (1845). A Sketch of the History of Newbury, Newburyport, and West Newbury, from 1635 to 1845. Boston: Samuel G. Drake.

Artist Bio

Anne Eder is an interdisciplinary artist and educator working in photography, sculpture, and fiction writing and has been internationally awarded, exhibited, and published. She is currently faculty at Harvard University and Penumbra Foundation, and guest faculty at Princeton University co-teaching with Guggenheim fellow, Deana Lawson. An advocate for increased access to the arts, the creation of public art is a dedicated part of her practice. She lives in Boston writing fairy tales and catering to her fabulous chihuahua, The Brain. 

Find more of this series at: www.anneeder.com

Author Bio

Diana Nicholette Jeon is an award-winning artist based in Honolulu, HI, who works primarily with lens-based media. Her work has been seen both internationally and nationally in solo and group exhibitions. Jeon holds an MFA from UMBC.