ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPH

Stephany Hildebrand began her artistic career as an interior design and still life photographer, then shifted her focus in 2018 to better understand nature and the environment around her. She used post-secondary studies in environmental technology to introduce herself to her new passion and skill set as a documentarian.

Hildebrand’s photography series Traces sheds light on the struggle of the eel species that has lived in the waters of the St. Lawrence River and the Adirondacks for untold generations. The American eel was once one of the most abundant fish in the St. Lawrence River, but since recently the population has plummeted to a dismal 2% of its former number. Hildebrand has linked the cause of this unfortunate population decline to the river’s hydroelectric dams that interfere with the migration patterns of these eels. The hydroelectric dams cause 41% of the mature eel population to die every year as they attempt to swim through the dams’ turbines. In her artist statement from the Richard F. Brush Art Gallery, Hildebrand states, “Many young people today have never encountered an eel, and this lack of awareness creates a disconnect which threatens the transfer of knowledge… it is critically important to reconnect the public with this species and increase awareness of its cultural and ecological significance and uniqueness.”

Traces I has an eerie and elusive quality, with its main colors of muted yet bright and bold blues and greens. The colors contribute to an overall watery feel to the photograph. Hildebrand chose to print these color photographs on metallic paper, which enhances the texture of the surface water in the photograph and makes it more reflective and eye-catching. Hildebrand’s photographs spread awareness of the eel population’s precarious situation within the upper regions of the Adirondacks and the St. Lawrence River. -Noah Woodcock

 

Stephany Hildebrand
Traces Ⅰ, 2022
Color photograph, printed on metallic paper, 30 x 24,”
SLU 2023.18
Richard F. Brush Art Gallery
St. Lawrence University
Canton, NY