Doug Anderson

I happened upon a wetlands area in Oregon that had been reduced to parched cracked dirt. Every few feet for two hundred yards or more in the area in front of me lay a rust colored ring encircling a desiccated body of a decaying fish. There were scores of dried fish in all kinds of configurations usually in small clusters in every direction. Some were nestled together side by side as if to offer each other some measure of comfort as they gasped final breaths. Some were snout to snout and others belly to belly. Some large fish seemed to be protecting their young as they played. All were frozen in place with flaking scales and emptying eye sockets; more delicate bones would be revealed each day. While this grotesque and malodorous scene was disturbing, I was utterly fascinated by the beauty of the poses, the ochre rings surrounding each and the unmistakable boney structures of each fish. I loved the way the colors, textures, and shapes of the fish looked on the crackled earth. This experience was the inspiration for the mixed media works in the series called, “Drought”.