A Sparrow on the Floor of a Cathedral, 2021 - present
Photographs printed on Museo Portfolio Rag paper, 22.25  x 16.75

I am the sparrow looking up through the water column into the virtuosity of natures’ cathedral; A Sparrow on the Floor of the Cathedral (ASFC) immerses the viewer beneath the ocean’s surface. Similar to the United States Geological Surveys (USGS) documentary landscape photographs of the nineteenth century, these marine environments call attention to latent possibilities; be they massive, sublime and/or vulnerable to human impact. Each articulation expresses a delicate balance of volume, space and adornment. Like the American West, these aquatic environments host natural resources which humans have or are actively extracting. Owing to their relative anonymity and inaccessibility these frontiers have been portrayed as “romantic”, mythical and untouched wildernesses. The mission of geological surveys included gathering information, data and photographs to encourage railroads, mining and tourism. It is in the geologic features that the history of the earth is inscribed: its age, the evolutions and extinctions of its species, its catastrophes, erosions and formations. Like the USGS documentation, the description of each photograph included in ASFC contains essential data related to the experience of its creation: such as time, date, location and specific geological formations. I share these details first to spread wonder, because knowledge and empathy transform wonder into curiosity and secondly, to foster awareness of the intricate and inextricable link between the quality of water and what lives within it. 

These book projects add to a catalog of artwork that advocates for water ecology. 

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​​Heart Beating Beneath the Earth, 2023

Another aspect of the project "Heart Beating Beneath the Earth", this collaborative book includes Jann's photographs and the creative writing of 30 individuals who were asked to respond to how the images affected them.
At the bottom of each page of responses is a slice of the corresponding photograph whose full image is revealed at the end of each phase of the book.
Photographs: Jann Rosen-Queralt.    Text: individually attributed.    Editorial Consultant: Jennifer Wallace.   Design Consultant: John Wilson.


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Rays in Reflection, 2018
Article in Full Bleed: A Journal of Art and Design, Issue 2 - The Crisis Issue. 
Text: Jann Rosen-Queralt and Jennifer Wallace
​Photographs: Jann Rosen-Queralt
​My work and research focused on Manta Rays was included in the Crisis Issue of Full Bleed. ​Published by Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Baltimore, MD. 

Strata, Shades, and Shadows, 2023
Archival inkjet prints ranging from 16" x 11" to 24" x 16

This series of photographs continues my understanding of the intersections of our built and natural worlds through exploring marine environments.

Both humans and nature must adapt underwater. The ocean is where life begins; it is a playground, food source, a lullaby and nightmare. Yet we often don’t think of water’s substance, texture, light and weight or as a space to inhabit. I look at subaquatic geology and ponder why it looks the way it does. I photograph the vast frontier from expansive perspectives and tune my magnifying glass to reveal the hidden exquisite details of nature. The photographs are a picture in time, an effort to visualize space in a way that alters our awareness. Rather than humankind’s relationship with the ocean as one of a fount of resources rife for exploitation, the space is transformed to foster equity and mutual understanding. 

PLA, 3D printed icosahedron, recycled plastic materials (toys, household waste, etc)
The project exists in three formats; sculpture, photographs and a book, 2023

This project is a further exploration into the idea of platonic solids, which are building blocks of the universe in Plato's cosmology. In this framework, an icosahedron (or a polyhderon with 20 sides), is the symbol for water. That shape forms the foundation of each of the sculptural pieces, which are clad in detritus such as tires and plastic scraps, things which commonly pollute and threaten the viability and survivability of our waterways. I photographed the icosahedrons in different outdoor settings, including an urban farm, city park and my own garden. The resulting photographs prompted a further search for meaning, a process I shared by inviting some 30 individuals from all walks of life to contribute written responses. The book Heart Beating Beneath the Earth was launched in May 2023 at the Ivy Bookshop and is available to order via their site, as well as in bookstores and libraries around Baltimore City.

The Ocean, 2019                          
multimedia installation, part of the exhibition "it can begin with the clouds", curated by john ros.
Pinkard Gallery, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore MD.

These artworks re-acquaint people with the importance of and our dependence upon water, a constantly evolving environment. A multi-faceted approach promotes understanding of the inter-related threads inherent in an ecosystem, which drives and shapes humans just as humans control and effect nature.

Together, the objects in this installation are parts of a network, stirring a memory. Similar to the way that a votive is a devotional gift designed to honor and adorn shrines, the polyhedrons and the photographs are dedications. I chose to work with polyhedrons, specifically the Platonic solids, after learning of Plato’s “theory of everything,”* a cosmology based on the dynamic elements’ primary roles in the transformation of the material cosmos –the environment.

Each polyhedron is symbolized by one symmetrical shape composed of triangles. The cube denotes solids of the Earth while the tetrahedron is associated with Fire’s purifying quality. The octahedron references the cosmic breath of Air and the icosahedron denotes Water, the life affirming liquid. This framework is a means to unlock a new perspective focused on elements - and our reliance on them - in the platonic cosmos.

*Plato's "account of the universe" is no longer satisfactory from the modern point of view, it has made a lasting impression on Western science and creative thinking.

Unsung Heroes, Silber Gallery. Goucher College, 2016

   (7) Umbrellas - Inkjet print on banner nylon, water, umbrella frames, handmade mounts, 52” Diameter, 39” Depth
(7) Dodecahedrons - laser-cut acrylic pieces from digital photograph, hand-constructed rhombic dodecahedrons, 5"x5"x5"

Work from "Intricate Observations x2", an exhibition featuring pieces from the ongoing series Unsung Heroes, which centers invertebrates and their role as indicator species in water quality assessment. 

Underwater photographs from my diving trips are digitally composited and then stitched into umbrellas or fashioned into dodecahedrons (a polyhedron with 12 faces). The works are installed all about the gallery, encouraging an immersive experience of looking as gallery attendees move about the space, becoming part of the grouping of pieces which are hung from the ceiling, sprout from the ground, and protrude from the wall. 

Unsung Heroes creates a context for humans to think of themselves as an umbrella species because we, as stewards of the earth, might be considered the most important one, with the potential to protect or neglect indicator species like those featured, through our  implementation of policy and steering conservation and its effectiveness.  All this underscores that through protecting umbrella species, we can indirectly protect the other orders that make up an ecological habitat.

Source, 2012
an installation combining sculpture, digital sound, photography and public programming 

Source is composed of seven elliptical columns that range in height from 6.5' to 9'. They are covered in wax and indigo dyed West African textiles. Each column contains a sensor which triggers a sound component, from a trio of sound compositions called "Water Sonettos" as visitors walk among them. The sounds were recorded during my visit to the Dogon villages of Andjoubolo, Pouroly, Soroly, and Sibi Sibi in Mali, and capture conversations with women in the YAGTU shallot co-operative. Photographs of the women, along with transcripts of the recorded conversations are displayed near the columns. Contributing to an already extant relationship between US Lutherans and the Dogon community, this project was sponsored by the Lutheran World Relief Organization as an outcropping of more general relief-work that addresses shared mission statements of broadening awareness of issues connected to water, women's empowerment and poverty reduction.  A main tenant of the partnership was to reinforce ties between the two communities through telling the story of women's stewardship of water in Mali by way of art, performance, and public programming.

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Shallots, 2012 
chrome, onion bulbs, wood chips 

A pair of two chrome plated onion bulbs placed on a thin layer of wood chips. Traditional sand molds were used to cast them in iron. The automotive chrome-plated polish references their value within the Dogon community. Through the sale of shallots, education, medicine, and other food can be acquired. 

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Water Footprint, 2012
Cast iron, steel, vinyl, water. 54" x  38" x 5"          

This piece brings awareness about potable water depletion. A steel plate, cast-iron shallots and an inflatable vinyl oval filled with water, reference the volume of water used to produce shallots, a valuable foodstuff in the Dogon villages. Condensation and evaporation take place within the inflated form, giving Water Footprint a life of its own.

                                                                     Intermezzo Suite, 2013. 
                                                                     Cast soap oyster shells, steel mesh, duratrans, and video.
                                                                  Dimensions variable. 

With water as the unifying thread, Intermezzo Suite, a triptych of quiet interventions at The Kreeger Museum in Washington D.C. respond to Lloyd and Carmen’s travels and art collecting patterns as well as Philip Johnson’s architecture, in particular his desire to bring the outdoors inside and attention given to materials and framing views.
Objects such as hand-cast soap bars shaped like oysters, a duratrans piece that takes advantage of a grand window, and an embedded video raise the ideas of sanitation, purification, and ritual in context of a common domestic setting.

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                                                                     Argo,  2017
                                                                                         Wood, LED lights, video projection
                                                                                         Overall Dimensions: 55’ X 22’ X 11’

Commissioned by Light City Baltimore through the Baltimore Office of Promotion and Arts for the Light City Festival in 2017, this collaborative project with artists Marian Ochoa and Kirsten Walsh was supported by the Maryland Science Center.. The immersive sculpture and video installation is inspired by the Greek myth, Jason and the Argonauts Quest for the Golden Fleece. The sculpture references the Argonauts’ ship, Argos, and the narrative for the video approximates the hero’s journey.

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                                                                                         Stream, 2014                                                                                          1:51 minute excerpt, full length 8:29 minutes. Video, projection and recorded audio.
Projected onto the walls of the Maryland Science Center as part of the HOTWALLS series curated by Luminous Intervention, a Baltimore based new media activist group, Stream is a video piece that explores the inter-connectedness of water environments and inhabitants. Using the roller coaster as a metaphor for the closed system of the hydrologic cycle one is reminded to consider our daily dependence and access to water, the imagery connects urban and aquatic life creating an awareness of and respect for our finite water resources.

A selection of public art projects. 

Percolare,  2017
City of Raleigh Arts Commission. Sandy Forks Road Widening Project, Raleigh, NC.
Materials: Copper, Stainless Steel, Polished River Pebbles
Dimensions: Footprint: 130” X 78”
Element A (Tall Cone) 141” X 14” X 32”
Element B (Center Column) 224” X 24” X 30”
Element C (Short Cone) 52” X 15” X 26”

Sited beside a bio-retention pond, Percolare is designed as a response to the environmental rehabilitation integrated into this (LEED rated) Greenroads project, highlighting the passage of rain and storm water easily visible to pedestrians and automotive traffic. Composed of shapes and surfaces reminiscent of strainers and sieves, the piece mimics the distillation process occurring in the bio-retention basin. Inspired by the natural filtration process occurring in the basin, the three elements of the sculpture collect filter and release water during wet weather. During dry periods without water flow, the shapes and surfaces may remind one of distillation vessels, strainers, and sieves. Elements of the sculpture are both permeable and solid providing the means to collect and release water into the surrounding region.

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Awi-Spek​,  2006 
Commissioned by the Arts and Science Council - Charlotte Mecklenberg, Inc., Billingsley Medical Facility, Charlotte Mecklenberg, NC.
Concrete, permeable pavement, powder-coated aluminum, plant materials, and Trex.
Plaza dimensions: 20' x 30'. Sound Trumpet dimensions: A: 115”H x 25”D x 40”L, B:  83”H x 33”D x 46”L. 

Awi-Spek sits on the north side of a bridge which connects the two sections of the Billingsley Medical campus. This refuge provides a physical place to observe the cycles of life and reaffirm patient activities while preserving and highlighting the ecosystem of indigenous plants and wildlife. The sounds of the environment can be listened to through the “ear trumpet” sculptures installed around the perimeter of the plaza area.  Each trumpet is mounted on a pedestal directed upward toward the tree canopy to amplify sounds emanating from birds, rustling leaves, or creaking branches. The plaza is a tranquil place to sit and eat lunch, read or wait for an appointment. It also serves as a destination for patients to connect with nature, allowing caretakers the opportunity to structure educational programming around the resources of the woodland environment, such as bird walks that highlight sightings in order to identify and count the number of songbird species, or joining the dawn chorus to witness their singing. Patients participated in a poetry and painting workshop where they created unique designs on stones to embed in the drain-stone patio.

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Confluence, 2011
Concrete, pavers, plant materials, powder-coated steel, water.
Overall Dimensions: 225’ x 65’ x 10’

This artwork explores the inherent balance, continuity, and cycles required in the treatment of waste water. The permanent installation is sustainably designed in that it is powered by recycled electricity and air produced during the cleansing process. Confluence is integrated into the plaza north of the solids building at the Brightwater Waste Treatment Plant in Seattle, Washington. Using data derived from peak periods of water flow in the wastewater system process plant, a kinetic sculptural element called the "breathing lung" recycles water with a smooth, human motion. As the pipes make visible the scale of conveyance and water consumption, the breathing action and volume of water changes according to literal use of water over the course of a day, reinforcing the impact of human use and the ebb and flow of natural tide-pools.  Beyond Confluence lies a willow garden. The volume of the willow plants represent less than one percent of the millions of gallons of water treated daily at the facility.

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Resonance, 2003-2009
Exterior porcelain tile, concrete pavers, nozzles, water. 30’ Diameter
Street and Park Road NW, Columbia Heights, Washington D.C.
Commissioned by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Resonance, a large scale Streetscape Revitalization Project in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C. focuses on the kaleidoscope as a symbol of the diversity of the surrounding community. The project further emphasizes that theme by utilizing textiles from different geographic locales such as Africa, Latin America, North America and South East Asia. These concentric circles reference the ripple pattern made when droplets fall from above and the center medallions reference the culture of residents of the neighborhood.
For this project, I worked with architects to develop an urban design framework plan and construct a civic plaza that accommodates community events. Our team defined qualities of the neighborhood and public places with commercial and residential support through public meetings, surveys, and consultation with our community steering committee. The work includes a plaza with terraced grassy steps, seating elements, and an interactive mosaic-tiled fountain. Additionally, I developed a series of training workshops to mentor neighborhood artists in mosaic design, and then oversaw the fabrication and installation of 17 medallions along the 14th street corridor. This process extended the project into the neighborhood and helped the community participate in a tangible way, fostering a sense of ownership and pride over the space.