Untitled (Breaker)

by Megan Vossler

Through seemingly simple forms, Megan Vossler’s most recent body of work contemplates the contradictory power of water. It connects, transports, carries, submerges, and drowns. It cleans, dilutes, and erodes. Growing up on the California coast, her favorite time to visit the ocean was during a storm, when the water was at its most unsettled. She would watch the surface contort and erupt as she looked for glimpses of what was underneath.

In this meticulous drawing of a lone swell in the ocean, she only makes visible what rises to the surface. But it serves as a warning of the invisible forces that surround you in the ocean—from methodical tidal contractions to the most unpredictable, deadly undertow.  And as the seas warm and expand from climate change, their unpredictability increases.