Melvin Edward Nelson worked for a time as an electrician before leaving his wife and children in 1942 to settle in Portland, Oregon. Around 1958, he purchased a thirty-hectare isolated plot of land near Colton, where he became a farmer and lived as a hermit alongside his longtime friend Cleo McClintock, known as “Mac.” Together, they led a life driven by a passion for inventions.
Between 1961 and 1966, Nelson developed research that resulted in an abundant body of pictorial work, embodied in the series Photo Genetics. Cosmic in nature, the series reflects the historical context of the Cold War, during which space became a major power stake between the USSR and the United States.
Nelson collected samples of soil and rocks from his land which, he believed, had been altered by frequent UFO activity—Oregon being known for numerous mysterious sightings. Charged with magnetic forces and universal energies, these samples were ground down and used as “sacred” pigments in his works. In the series Sentra Photo Thesis, created in watercolor and acrylic, he practiced observational painting based on pencil sketches made on site. The resulting images reflect the vastness of time and space and bear witness to his astral travels. Nelson signed his works with his initials, “MEN,” an acronym that also stood for “Mighty Eternal Nation.” He was known locally for being willing to shoot anyone who approached his property.