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 At first glance the images are familiar looking natural forms - tree roots, bark, stones, and plants.  These are photographs of the root systems of toppled trees that line the banks of the Mississippi River near my home in St. Paul.  A closer look reveals unusual organic shapes and primordial figures - as if they have always existed in the inner life of these trees, and are now released. 

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 The roots and tree trunks have been eroded and washed by flood waters year after year then dried in the summer sun, exposing beautiful textures, colors, and patterns.  Ancient spaces and otherworldly forms in shades of brown, blue, gold, and gray, await in the underbelly of these wonderful trees. 

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 Printed on a polyester weave, vinyl substrate, the works are mounted inches off the wall, unframed, like hanging textiles.  They move and bend.  They are not only images, but objects occupying space.

 

  So far in 2026 my work is featured in the group exhibitions - Untitled 20 , at Soo Visual Arts Center, Minneapolis; 

 Light on Cut Paper, at New Orleans Photo Alliance, New Orleans;  Making Strange, at Praxis Photo Arts Center, Minneapolis;                                     and  A Celebration of Contemporary Photography, at PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT.

                                                                                                                                                      James Byrne

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