Photography exhibit offers connection to nature

 LAS CRUCES — For Elizabeth Abrams, the art of photography offers an opportunity to connect deeply with the world around us, especially in the form of nature.

Her exhibit, “Antidotes: Seeing Beauty, Finding Connection,” opens at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces on Aug. 19. An artist’s reception with refreshments and free admission is set for 1:30-3:30 p.m. on Aug. 19. The show will continue in the Museum’s Arts Corridor through Dec. 2, 2023.

The show features 24 beautiful landscape and wildlife images by Abrams, who lives in Las Cruces. The show also includes a “Death and Life” display, a memorial work dedicated to horses and other animals.

“My own journey of reconnecting with the landscape of the Chihuahuan Desert has brought experiences of deep healing and meaning,” Abrams says in her Artist Statement. “I think about photography as a practice of seeing the land and animals with love, care, and attention, and acknowledging our interdependence. This is my way of contemplating the mutual antidotes humans and the rest of nature might be able offer each other in facing the unique challenges of the times we live in.”

Her landscape photographs reflect the light and texture of the environment and the seasons, whether it’s the Rio Grande or the Organ Mountains. The 12 wildlife images in the show feature everything from a bobcat to a variety of birds.

Elizabeth Harvey Abrams is a nature photographer and interdisciplinary artist. She grew up in Alamogordo and Las Cruces with multiple generations of farming and ranching on both sides of her family. Abrams returned to Las Cruces after a 15-year career in federal government and related work in Washington, D.C. After changing careers, she now practices as a mental health counselor focusing on grief, trauma, and ecotherapy.