Rebecca Villarreal

These images are part of a series shot at North Padre Island National Seashore on the gulf coast of Texas. Its landscape is not conspicuously dramatic, but the monotony of its features brings out the subtle grandeur of the environment. I was drawn to the fragile splendor that survives here despite the severity of the surroundings. Beaches are a liminal space in perpetual flux; it takes very little time to realize that even the ground beneath your feet is always shifting. Such obvious impermanence lends a certain significance to each passing moment. It is these transitory alignments I have sought to capture on film, that stillness within the chaos, the glory of a fleeting moment. These images were shot on a Mamiya C-22o, a twin-lens medium format film camera. I print the images myself in limited editions. The frames are custom made from hand-finished walnut. All framing materials are totally archival.