The Lewis Glacier, Mt. Kenya, 2004 (C) Possibly 2014 - 2015

This arresting image was made by Simon Norfolk in 2004, and shows us the Lewis Glacier on Mt. Kenya. It's made with photography, but that doesn't mean that Norfolk isn't shaping and making meaning with the lens. Here, the smooth, solid glacier melts into a pale green pool, while leaping flames lick the rocks in the foreground. The colors are so unreal! I'm captivated by the way the textures tell a story of their own. The jagged, broken rocks at the bottom stand in such stark contrast with the smooth glacial ice and the silky surface of the water. The flames are soft and blurry, like a memory. The whole image reminds me of the sublime landscapes of Romantic painters like Caspar David Friedrich, but with this ecological twist. Norfolk reminds us that nothing is permanent, and that everything is connected. It’s a powerful statement about change, loss, and, maybe, hope.