Victoria Sambunaris

Between Worlds

October 20th - December 1st 2012

Tops Gallery is pleased to announce its inaugural exhibition of the work of Victoria Sambunaris opening on Saturday, October 20th, 2012 from 3-7 pm and on view through December 1, 2012.

For the last 12 years, photographer Victoria Sambunaris has traveled extensively by car exploring the transformation of the American landscape. Her work has led her to significant industrial, political, and geological areas of the country including Alaska's North Slope, the Yellowstone hotspot, the Snake River Plain, and the US-Mexican border. Sambunaris has stated that "my process begins with an unmitigated curiosity inspired by research into industry, culture, history, anthropology, geology and ecology. My motivation to traverse the American landscape is an attempt to reveal the layers of a place. I resist approaching a landscape strictly as an expanse of scenery but view it as an anomaly with an abundance of information to be discovered."

For her exhibition with Tops, Sambunaris presents large-scale photographs of southern cavern systems and the Snake River Plain. These photographs were selected for their relationship to the subterranean nature of the Tops gallery space and its close proximity to the Mississippi River. In addition, Sambunaris will exhibit a special installation of ephemera including a 1931 bulletin on the artesian well supply in Memphis, local maps ranging from 1916 to 1970, a selection of minerals, and several books referencing the region. A special 11x14 inch print (pictured above) from Sambunaris' newest series of work engaging the border between the US and Mexico will also be on view and offered exclusively through Tops Gallery in an edition of 20.