Salt Mountain 3

The photographs in Small Mountains (2006-2008) appear to portray imposing mountain crags but they actually provide close-up views of mounds of road salt and dirt that the artist discovered at various outdoor sites. This series extends Lee’s interest in the physical effects of weather and time, a theme that she introduced in an earlier project documenting the Illinois prairies throughout the seasons. Equally, though, Small Mountains highlights the contingency of our relationship with space. The photographs create ambiguities of scale and require us to negotiate between an appearance that echoes past representations of majestic landscapes and minute details that reveal a more modest reality.