Michele Tilley’s series Adverse Possession 1, Adverse Possession 2, and Adverse Possession #3 examines the complex relationship between human labor and the natural landscape of Wyoming.
Michele Tilley creates charcoal and pastel drawings exploring the relationship between human labor and the landscapes of the American West.
Created with charcoal and pastel on paper, these monochromatic works capture expansive mountain terrain while introducing tools and equipment associated with work on the land. Through careful tonal shading and atmospheric composition, Tilley juxtaposes the grandeur of geological formations with objects that represent human intervention. The series reflects on the tension between reverence for nature and the impulse to shape and occupy it.
Adverse Possession 1, Michele Tilley, 2025, charcoal and pastel on paper, 24 x 30 in. / 60.96 x 76.2 cm.
In Adverse Possession 1, Tilley places a ladder prominently within a stark mountainous landscape. The ladder stands as a utilitarian object that contrasts sharply with the rugged rock formations surrounding it. Rendered in charcoal with soft gradients and textured strokes, the mountain forms appear heavy and enduring, while the ladder introduces a human scale within the otherwise monumental environment. The composition suggests a moment of pause between action and contemplation, where tools become symbols of humanity’s ongoing negotiation with the land.
Adverse Possession 2, Michele Tilley, 2025, pastel and charcoal on paper, 24 x 30 in. / 60.96 x 76.2 cm.
Adverse Possession 2 expands the series’ exploration of labor through the presence of a wheelbarrow positioned within a sweeping hillside landscape. The surrounding terrain is depicted with delicate tonal transitions that evoke distant ridges, open valleys, and soft atmospheric haze. The wheelbarrow appears almost suspended within the scene, emphasizing its functional role as a tool for shaping the environment. By isolating this object against the vastness of the terrain, Tilley highlights the scale difference between human effort and the expansive natural systems that surround it.
Adverse Possession #3, Michele Tilley, 2026, charcoal and pastel on paper, 24 x 30 in. / 60.96 x 76.2 cm.
In Adverse Possession #3, Tilley focuses more directly on the mountain landscape itself. The drawing emphasizes dramatic rock formations and shifting fog that softens the contours of the terrain. Dense charcoal marks create depth and weight within the rocky structures, while lighter passages of pastel suggest mist and atmospheric distance. Without a prominent tool in the foreground, the landscape becomes the central subject, reinforcing the enduring presence of nature within the series’ broader dialogue about human interaction with the land.
Across the Adverse Possession series, Michele Tilley investigates the balance between human presence and the enduring power of natural landscapes. By placing ordinary tools within monumental environments, the drawings reveal the complex relationship between labor, ownership, and ecological respect. The works emphasize that while humans shape the land through effort and infrastructure, the landscape itself remains the defining force within the shared story of place and identity.
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