Horse Island captures the passage of time and the natural changes in the landscape in Connecticut's Thimble Islands. It compiles work done by Javier A. Román-Nieves over the course of a summer internship at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, which owns and manages the 17-acre island off the coast of Stony Creek. Part naturalist account, part site assessment, Román-Nieves combines field notes, commentary and archival materials with landscape and specimen photography into a volume tracing the history, lore and ecological values surrounding this island nature preserve. His artist essay draws from available sources, unstructured interviews, historical documents and photos taken at the time of Yale’s acquisition of Horse Island to build a story of place and to suggest future use possibilities in accordance with its original purpose. Recreated views of the 1971 photographs show the growth of the tree canopy, while photos of the seascape, geological features and wildlife capture the mood, silence and natural darkness of this unique sanctuary in Long Island Sound.

Javier A. Román-Nieves is an artist, writer and natural resource manager. He obtained a first master’s degree in architecture from the University of Puerto Rico in 2004, and a second one from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in 2019. There he picked up skills from the human dimensions of environmental management, ecosystem conservation and GIS mapping, combining them into a unique practice located between land management and environmental communications. He likes to photograph birds and stars, and thrives at the intersection of humans and nature.

Roqué Stahl Ltd. is an independent micropublishing label founded by Román-Nieves in 2016.