Wayne Baruch
 “Fontein Cave 1” photograph on paper, 17” H x 23” W, 2022, $190.80

   As a photographer, my focus is the Built World.  I love the beauty and tenacity of Nature, as well as images that inspire awe, curiosity, wonder, hope, admiration of human ingenuity and creativity, and sometimes even sadness.  In my work, you will see a wonderful blend of Nature, artisanship, history, engineering, architecture, aesthetics, and the human race’s competition and collaboration with Nature. 
   Fontein Cave is a natural wonder with stalagmites and stalactites, including the “Stalagmite Buffalo” that rings when an Arikok National Park Ranger knocks on it with his knuckle.  Yellow to green algae line the cave walls.  In addition, there is fantastic selection of ancient drawings and etchings that are said to have been made by the Amerindians about 4,000 years ago. The cave is also home for bats, crabs, insects, and other creatures that crawl in the dark.
   Although the Fontein Caves are obviously much older, their story begins about 4,000 years ago, when the nomadic Amerindians settled on Aruba. Here they discovered the caves, which they decorated with drawings and etchings – perhaps even under the influence of psychedelics. Another story of the Fontein Cave’s history leads back to the Arawak Indians, living on Aruba around 1,000 AD. Some people argue that they lived or hid in the caves, whereas other theories say they were mainly used as a place of worship, ritualism, and sacrifice.
   “Sunlight in the Dark”, you see the result of skylights that opened in the roof of Guadirikiri Cave, Arikok National Park, Aruba.  In abandonment photography, Nature overtakes the Built World.  Here, Nature destroys her own.  The beam of sunlight is a remarkable sight.