Area Clearcut Prior to 1980 Eruption Surrounded by Downed Trees--Clearwater Creek Valley--9 Miles East of Mount Saint Helens, Washington Possibly 1981 - 1983

Frank Gohlke captured this photograph of the Clearwater Creek Valley, east of Mount Saint Helens, showcasing a landscape dramatically reshaped by both human intervention and natural disaster. The image presents a stark contrast: a cleared area, a scar left by logging, encircled by the chaotic destruction wrought by the volcanic eruption. This juxtaposition evokes the ancient motif of the "wound," a powerful symbol seen across cultures and eras. Think of Philoctetes, the hero abandoned on an island due to a festering wound, or even the wounded landscapes of the First World War—each embodies suffering, resilience, and the complex relationship between humanity and the natural world. The cleared circle becomes a focal point. It’s a visual echo of ancient ritual sites—arenas where symbolic dramas unfold. Yet here, the drama is not one of deliberate sacrifice but of unintended consequence, a raw display of nature's power to reclaim and redefine the spaces we attempt to control. The eye is drawn, almost compulsively, to the image of this wound.