An Unknown River is the latest ongoing body of work from Tanya Houghton. Exploring the role of gender in the great outdoors, the work is part portrait of the Colorado River and part homage to all the women that have formed their lives around the river.
For this work Houghton collaborates with women from different backgrounds scattered along the surrounding lands; Indigenous, boat builders, geologists, therapists, park rangers, thru hikers, writers and artists. The work is a collection of interconnected narratives that take place on and along the Colorado River & its surrounding canyons. Through this work Houghton employs immersive methodologies, exploring experiences of the land; hiking, rafting and camping, guided by stories of space and place and the mythology of the land.
Challenging current practices around the “feminine” and landscape photography, Houghton uses traditional photographic methods, as well as new explorations in her practice around video and sound. Using the Colorado River as its stage, An Unknown River examines the role of gender within the landscape, past and present.
Examining the parallels between women and water, exploring themes of eco-feminism and the current shift in representation of women in the wild. Through this work Houghton is able to reflect on her own practice as a female practitioner choosing to work in remote landscapes in the great outdoors. Turning her lens inwards she examines the immersive methods she uses to make her work, and what it means to move alone as a woman in one of the most isolated and harsh landscapes in the world.
The work is a testament to all the pioneering women that pave the way, continually drawn to a life in the great outdoors.
