Matthew and Julie Chase-Daniel “The Blue Fold” at Eco-Discovery Center in Key West

The Blue Fold

In the exhibition, and book of the same name, Matthew and Julie Chase-Daniel share the art and poetry they produced during a month-long artist residency on Loggerhead Key that was facilitated by the National Parks Arts Foundation, in cooperation with the National Park Service ‘Volunteers in the Parks’ program.

Seventy miles west of Key West in the Dry Tortugas National Park, Loggerhead Key is located within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, created in 1975 to protect the third largest coral barrier reef system in the world. It is known for a decommissioned brick lighthouse built in 1858, light keeper’s brick cottage, small bunkhouse, and the ruins of a significant marine biology laboratory operated by the Carnegie Institute from 1904-1939.

While open to day visitors interested in the coral reef, nearby shipwrecks, and lighthouse, overnight stays are strictly limited to a small number of park service employees, interns, and volunteers.  Sustained effort and investment are required to maintain and repair the buildings & systems, and to monitor and restore the coral and other marine life, including endangered turtles and birds.

The month-long arts residency provides uninterrupted time to work and immersion in a natural environment free from many of the distractions of twenty-first century life. Power is produced by photovoltaic panels and water by a reverse-osmosis desalination system. The island has no telephone, cell phone or internet service.

Matthew and Julie Chase-Daniel arrived on September 1, but were evacuated less than a week later due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Irma. On September 20, they returned to the island, and remained there, alone and uninterrupted until October 10.

The Blue Fold explores perspectives, human and natural, of the island, climate change, sea level rise, coral reefs, Hurricane Irma, and disaster evacuation & recovery, through images, poetry and prose.