The Underverse is a place that exists somewhere outside the shoals of dreams. Visible from the Spires of the Silver City and the Citdales of Hell. It's a location where the Universe places things that don't quite belong.
Think of it as the model you put together as a kid. With your fingers covered in glue sticking to everything. When it's done, and you stand back to look, you notice extra pieces. They aren't in the instructions and don't seem to line up with anything else. So you set them aside and forget about them. The Undervers is where the forgotten go.
The Doorwhere to Everywhere is there in the Gardens of Nowhere. Although usually closed, once in a while, it opens, and something forgotten slips back. But when remember, when a door opens, something goes out, and someone can go in.
The Underverse is a collection of artworks, photos, poems, and stories that don't quite fit anywhere else. They have never found a permanent home. Also, the collection doesn't get much display time with my current Milky Way obsession.
The Underverse is an ongoing project with no end in sight. Perhaps one day, I'll put what I have at the time into a book or zine.
I made the DoorWhere to Everywhere circa 1992 from an old black and white negative and Photoshop 2.5. I shot the photo with a Canon AE-1 Program and a 50mm f/1.8 lens my folks got for me when I was 15. The negative was scanned on a film scanner that took over 10 minutes. The image became my first digital creation. I printed it and sold a few dozen prints way back then.
It's officially the oldest computer file I have. It has survived more than several computers and hard drive crashes. I even had it registered with the U.S. copyright in a fit of madness.
For me, it represents the beginning of finding my artistic voice. It's the first Foto Dono. I made a 20x30 of it once as a gift to my Ex in 2001. She returned it after the divorce. It now hangs in a cabin in Tennessee. There are only a handful of other prints out there. I wonder how they've stood the test of time.
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