From the field I watch fog close in until I see only three hundred feet in all directions, a murky dome. Beyond, the rest of the island in similar isolation could be gone. Only the spider webs, shining mist nets strewn across grass, are real. They've studied weather here for years: pressure, precipitation, temperature, wind changes neatly recorded in tables, grey nets strewn across pages and pages, capturing numbers that capture the mood of the place, how it evolves and, astoundingly, why. This mood might be real too, though less visible than clear webs. Pressure changes: In my dome, I shrink and grow. Precipitation changes: In my dome, soak and dry. Temperature changes: In my dome, heat and cool. Wind changes: In my dome, back and forth, only three hundred feet in all directions. Shining mist nets across grass make moisture visible, drops collecting so I can capture how they shrink and grow, soak and dry. Not easy to capture the mood of this dome, how it evolves-why? So many fine strings to keep separate when dew makes them stick together. Pressure: high. Don't know about the rest of the (what rest of the could be gone!) island. If there are other domes, I hope there are other nets to capture the changing before it's gone. Years of weather neatly recorded, an impulse to capture and understand why. It comes back to fog, vapor settling us into isolation, wrapping the island into itself. -- Anne Rothacker ’11
Artists-in-Residence
The student artists live alongside the scientists and professional artists-in-residence at the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ Scientific Station, seeking inspiration from the work of those around them and from living in a beautiful and wild spot.
The writing and art that comes out of students' stays at the station also serves as another way to communicate the island science to the public.
Exhibition at Saint John Arts Centre in New Brunswick, Canada
In 2010, five former Kent Island artist-in-residents—Elsbeth Paige-Jeffers ’10, Colin Matthews ’10, Carina Sandoval ’10, Anne Rothacker ’11, and Evan Graff ’11— at the St. John Arts Centre in an exhibition called Island Bound.
The show was organized by photographer Peter Cunningham, whose father, Bob, worked on Kent Island for many years as a cloud physicist and fog specialist.