California State University, Long Beach 1995
The Black and Blue series of digital images examining Southern California, were created by Paul Clifford while acting as Fulbright Visiting Artist at California State University Long Beach.
The title of this exhibition has a number of references in relation to Long Beach. These include the pervading color of day-to-night skies and the importance of oil and water in this region. Black and Blue also alludes to a notion of injury effecting the environment and the community in this area of Southern California.
The perpetual motion of oil well mechanisms dominate parts of the local landscape and in the context exhibition becomes analogous to what is visible during life in flux and a reminder of the importance of what lies beneath the surface.