Known for her underwater camera work that transtorms the traditional horizon line into a fluid moving plane that upends expectations, in the past few years, Ashford has experienced her own upending. On a journey to Antarctica to explore the interplay between water and ice, Ashford came face to face with the effects of climate change.
Eager to capture the beauty as a call to action, Ashford's work took on new meaning and urgency. She traveled to the North Pole and later to the archipelagos of Svalbard where she witness the dramatic effects of melting polar ice. This new work also explores abstract forms with biomorphic structure and composition, capturing these floating polar jewels before they disappear.
Despite the shock of this devastating loss of ice and habitat, Ashford's overarching message is one of hope and beauty. Just as her subjects transformed her everyday actions to those that sustain life, she hopes that her photographs empower viewers to see themselves as stewards of the earth, that they, too, take positive action to preserve the great beauty of our planet.