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Four Good Eyes

Introducing a body-based geological sign language for Fogo Island

18 tableaus, a vocabulary, and a publication, 2016−2018, with geologist Jack Botsford

The project is situated at the intersection of geology and art. Based on the practice of using the human figure as a scale in geology, the concept of a body-based geological sign language has been developed and implemented on Fogo Island, Newfoundland. The result is a collection of tableaus that combine photographs of geological features with body-inspired graphical symbols carrying information on those features. The title refers to two people with good eyes for their surroundings − a geologist and an artist − collaborating in the field. The project was supported by Shorefast Foundation's 'Geology at the Edge' program.


Granite-Mafic Contact


Granitic Gneiss Iceberg Dropstone


Intrusion and Folding





Raised Beaches and Dropped Stones

The tableaus, a list of the new geological 'vocabulary,' and an introduction to the geology of Fogo Island are assembled in the illustrated book Raised Beaches and Dropped Stones. The book has the potential to reach a diverse audience and to stimulate the interest in geology with visitors to Fogo Island and beyond. The publication was facilitated through a grant by the Canadian Geological Foundation.

Read the preface: "More than a Hammer, or: How the project came into being"















Raised Beaches on Sedimentary Sequence


Granit Cobble Raised Beach


Granitic Dyke in Diorite


Crystalline Vein in Ultramafic Rock




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