Poetic Landscapes of the Forgotten Forts

For the last decade I have been photographing contemporary ruins: the three forts that protected the Puget Sound during WWI and WWII. Over fifty years have passed since Forts Worden, Flagler and Casey were decommissioned, and today their structures are engulfed by abundant vegetation. Their landscape tells a story, bringing to mind the vision of fortresses filled with American soldiers prepared to defend the Puget Sound. Through my photographs I aim to evoke a sense of the unknown, as well as the fear and the courage young American soldiers might experience today throughout the world.

With this series, I often collaborate with poet Kelli Russell Agodon. I give Kelli my photographs and she responds with poems that explore the history of the fort, give voice to the soldiers once stationed there, and reveal what it’s like to be there now. She juxtaposes all this with today’s current affairs. I then frame her poems next to my images or incorporate them into the images themselves.

Kelli began writing her responses to my photographs on the day after the 2016 presidential election, when attending an artist residency at Fort Worden. Because of the intolerant views of the Trump administration, and now our current situation with COVID-19, our work on Poetic Landscapes of the Forgotten Forts has evolved into a thought-provoking and immediately relevant project. With the new Biden administration, we have a more hopeful outlook. Our collaboration continues to be influenced by current affairs as they evolve.