November Artist-in-Residence Shawn Records has been photographing in Gray’s Harbor in Southwest Washington State for the past three years. His series Harbor looks at both the decline and resurrection of this area, which has had more than its share of stumbles into the 21st Century. A region known for incredible natural resources and beauty, this place has also seen the failure of a declining logging industry, a nuclear power plant that foundered on the eve of opening, and the rise of meth use. Towns like Aberdeen, Washington, hometown of Kurt Cobain and where Records has photographed extensively, are places where the residents have to make their own sunshine in the face of so much economic and cultural fog. Records photographs the moments of strange beauty that save places like these and keep them on the map.

Records arrived for his residency with a set of portfolio prints and a gorgeous presentation book of theHarbor work. During his time here, he plans to realize exhibition prints of the series.

Records received his MFA in photography from Syracuse University. He also holds a BA in photography and writing from Boise State University. His work has been exhibited widely in venues such as Blue Sky Gallery, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, and Quality Pictures, Portland, Oregon. To read more about Records and his work, visit his website.