Near Rochester, Washington, 2007

For Davis, the photographs, lacking textual signs or obvious geographic landmarks, become signifiers for the non-specificity of place; how images can act as a trigger of distant memories or dreams. Each image is imbued with a sense a familiarity, a recognizable feeling, yet conveying an ambiguity of being close to nowhere. Often there are traces of human activity which add a human gesture to a landscape devoid of people. Davis’ project began in the summer of 2007 before the historic 100 year flood in that occurred in Washington State in the fall. The Western Lands is an exploration of the harshness of nature and its beauty. It encompasses the emptiness of the high desert, the richness of the verdant temperate Northwest, and the arid valleys of southern California. -James Harris Gallery, Steve Davis: The Western Lands exhibition, 2009