Untitled, From the series Chuckanut: Spring Set, 2026, Cyanotype toned with Rhododendron, 16x20"
Work in Progress 2026
Chuckanut Overview:
Chuckanut explores nature’s impact on the lived experience of place attachment felt by those who have moved away from home. Place attachment is believed to be the cognitive emotional bond to place that informs an immigrant’s sense of identity and can have a bearing on such diverse issues as rootedness, belonging, and displacement. This project builds upon Elizabeth's series The Woods where she explored places of attachment within her home country, England. However, for Chucakanut she investigates places that she has built an attachment to in her new place of residence, America. She documents specific sites that have helped her build her identity as an immigrant and have helped her locate herself through the connection to the natural landscape. These images are made using the cyanotype toning process. Elizabeth uses plants directly from these sites to tone the images, specifically rhododendron leaves. Similar to The Woods this series will also be broken up into four seasons documenting this personally significant location over the period of a year.
Spring set:
The Spring Set was created in Spring of 2026. This body of work questions the meaning of belonging and its negotiation between memory and displacement. It offers up a discussion on place attachment and if it is possible for an immigrant to cultivate a connection to a place that they were not born in. It also acknowledges the rich and nuanced histories that shape the American landscape by questioning what it means to build attachment to lands that are shaped by indigenous cultures.
Chuckanut Overview:
Chuckanut explores nature’s impact on the lived experience of place attachment felt by those who have moved away from home. Place attachment is believed to be the cognitive emotional bond to place that informs an immigrant’s sense of identity and can have a bearing on such diverse issues as rootedness, belonging, and displacement. This project builds upon Elizabeth's series The Woods where she explored places of attachment within her home country, England. However, for Chucakanut she investigates places that she has built an attachment to in her new place of residence, America. She documents specific sites that have helped her build her identity as an immigrant and have helped her locate herself through the connection to the natural landscape. These images are made using the cyanotype toning process. Elizabeth uses plants directly from these sites to tone the images, specifically rhododendron leaves. Similar to The Woods this series will also be broken up into four seasons documenting this personally significant location over the period of a year.
Spring set:
The Spring Set was created in Spring of 2026. This body of work questions the meaning of belonging and its negotiation between memory and displacement. It offers up a discussion on place attachment and if it is possible for an immigrant to cultivate a connection to a place that they were not born in. It also acknowledges the rich and nuanced histories that shape the American landscape by questioning what it means to build attachment to lands that are shaped by indigenous cultures.
Untitled, From the series Chuckanut: Spring Set, 2026, Cyanotype toned with Rhododendron, 24x16"
Chuckanut
The title of this project comes from the name of the Chuckanut Mountains. Chuckanut is an Indigenous word meaning “long beach far from a narrow entrance”. This area lies withing the traditional territories of Coast Salish Indigenous people whose present-day descendants include members of the Samish Indian Nation, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, Lummi Nation, Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, Nooksack Indian Tribe, and Suquamish Tribe.
Larrabee State Park
This plot of land became Washington’s first state park after Governor Ernest Lister accepted a 20-acre donation of land from Frances Larrabee on November 22, 1915. It was first known as Chuckanut State Park but was later renamed to honor the Larrabee family.
The title of this project comes from the name of the Chuckanut Mountains. Chuckanut is an Indigenous word meaning “long beach far from a narrow entrance”. This area lies withing the traditional territories of Coast Salish Indigenous people whose present-day descendants include members of the Samish Indian Nation, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, Lummi Nation, Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, Nooksack Indian Tribe, and Suquamish Tribe.
Larrabee State Park
This plot of land became Washington’s first state park after Governor Ernest Lister accepted a 20-acre donation of land from Frances Larrabee on November 22, 1915. It was first known as Chuckanut State Park but was later renamed to honor the Larrabee family.
Untitled, From the series Chuckanut: Spring Set, 2026, Cyanotype toned with Rhododendron, 20x16"
Place Attachment noun
at·tach·ment | \ ˈplās \ ə-ˈtach-mənt
A cognitive emotional bond to place. These connections inform our sense of identity, create meaning in our lives, facilitate community and influence action. Place attachments have bearing on such diverse issues as rootedness and belonging, displacement, and migration.
Environmental psychologists Leila Scannell and Robert Gifford proposed in 2010 that there is a tripartite organizing framework of place attachment including person, psychological process, and place dimensions. The psychological process of place attachment can be broken down into the sense of place, cognitive, and behavioural. Place attachment is often characterised by the emotional connection a particular place a sense of belonging and a love of the place. It is an authentic and emotional bond with an environment that "satisfies a fundamental human need" (Scannell and Gifford, 2010). It is seen as an emotional investment in a place.
at·tach·ment | \ ˈplās \ ə-ˈtach-mənt
A cognitive emotional bond to place. These connections inform our sense of identity, create meaning in our lives, facilitate community and influence action. Place attachments have bearing on such diverse issues as rootedness and belonging, displacement, and migration.
Environmental psychologists Leila Scannell and Robert Gifford proposed in 2010 that there is a tripartite organizing framework of place attachment including person, psychological process, and place dimensions. The psychological process of place attachment can be broken down into the sense of place, cognitive, and behavioural. Place attachment is often characterised by the emotional connection a particular place a sense of belonging and a love of the place. It is an authentic and emotional bond with an environment that "satisfies a fundamental human need" (Scannell and Gifford, 2010). It is seen as an emotional investment in a place.
Untitled, From the series Chuckanut: Spring Set, 2026, Cyanotype toned with Rhododendron, 12x16"
Cyanotype Toning
Cyanotype is a photographic technique invented by Sir John Herschel where ferric ammonium citrate is mixed with potassium ferricyanide and applied to an absorbent surface. Once dried an object or a negative is laid on top of the light sensitive surface and exposed to UV light resulting in white image on a blue background. These images are then toned in tannin rich solutions. The tannins react with the iron salts altering the final color of the print.
Rhododendron
Each cyanotype was toned in rhododendron leaves. The rhododendron plant was chosen for this project to represent the abundance of rhododendrons in the area. As you enter Larrabee State Park you are greeted with a wall of rhododendron plants. The state flower of Washington is the rhododendron macrophyllum, which means “rose tree with large leaves.” In 1892, the women of Washington selected the coast rhododendron as the state flower. They wanted an official flower to enter in a floral exhibit at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. This was the first time women in Washington were given the right to vote, however this was not permanent. It wasn't until 1910 that women were granted the official right to vote in the state of Washington.
Cyanotype is a photographic technique invented by Sir John Herschel where ferric ammonium citrate is mixed with potassium ferricyanide and applied to an absorbent surface. Once dried an object or a negative is laid on top of the light sensitive surface and exposed to UV light resulting in white image on a blue background. These images are then toned in tannin rich solutions. The tannins react with the iron salts altering the final color of the print.
Rhododendron
Each cyanotype was toned in rhododendron leaves. The rhododendron plant was chosen for this project to represent the abundance of rhododendrons in the area. As you enter Larrabee State Park you are greeted with a wall of rhododendron plants. The state flower of Washington is the rhododendron macrophyllum, which means “rose tree with large leaves.” In 1892, the women of Washington selected the coast rhododendron as the state flower. They wanted an official flower to enter in a floral exhibit at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. This was the first time women in Washington were given the right to vote, however this was not permanent. It wasn't until 1910 that women were granted the official right to vote in the state of Washington.
Untitled, From the series Chuckanut: Spring Set, 2026, Cyanotype toned with Rhododendron, 20x16"
Bibliography
Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden. “About Rhododendrons.” Accessed 14 August 2026. https://rhodygarden.org/our-plants/rhododendrons/about-rhododendrons/.
Scannell, Leila, and Robert Gifford. 2010. "Defining Place Attachment: A Tripartite Organizing Framework." Journal of Environmental Psychology 30, no. 1 (March): 1–10. doi.org.
Washington Office of the Secretary of State. “Voting Rights for Women, Women’s Suffrage.” Elections & Voting. Accessed 14 August 2026. https://www2.sos.wa.gov/elections/timeline/suffrage.htm.
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. “Larrabee State Park History.” Field Guide Blog. Accessed 14 August 2026. https://parks.wa.gov/about/news-center/field-guide-blog/larrabee-state-park-history.
Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden. “About Rhododendrons.” Accessed 14 August 2026. https://rhodygarden.org/our-plants/rhododendrons/about-rhododendrons/.
Scannell, Leila, and Robert Gifford. 2010. "Defining Place Attachment: A Tripartite Organizing Framework." Journal of Environmental Psychology 30, no. 1 (March): 1–10. doi.org.
Washington Office of the Secretary of State. “Voting Rights for Women, Women’s Suffrage.” Elections & Voting. Accessed 14 August 2026. https://www2.sos.wa.gov/elections/timeline/suffrage.htm.
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. “Larrabee State Park History.” Field Guide Blog. Accessed 14 August 2026. https://parks.wa.gov/about/news-center/field-guide-blog/larrabee-state-park-history.