My sculptural installations embrace the entanglement that humans have with their more-than-human surroundings. These installations challenge the varying relationships that humans have with nature, particularly the traditional Western binary that nature is outside of human society. I am interested in the hierarchies that we set as humans and investigate these boundaries to understand why they have come into existence; we are now seeing, and living within, the consequences of walling ourselves off from nature.

Working outside of my studio and interacting with the surrounding landscape has always been a critical part of my practice: many of my concepts are derived from organizing my thoughts during time spent outside. My senses are activated during these moments in the terrain which informs my desire to connect viewers of my work to their senses. The world we exist in moves at such a pace that I believe it is easy to overlook the marvelous subtleties; my installations attempt to draw attention to unverbalized natural phenomena that are overlooked by a distracted eye or mind. 

I am specifically curious about perception. How does one’s perception of their environment shape their view of the world? Of their connection or disconnection to the surrounding landscape? Through multi-elemental sculptural installations—often including materials such as scientific glass and rocks (fake and real), but also elements like reflection, light and shadow—I explore these questions. These elements act as vehicles for this exploration of perception and connection to the landscape.

I choose materials based on the connotations that they hold. Scientific glass provides connection to lab equipment and the scientific understanding of the world around us. I am questioning the western science system’s depiction of the natural world. I am fascinated by the expression of time alternative to human measurements within the landscape. Geologic time is of specific interest to me; rocks express time through weathering, layering, and moving. A rock touched today may have originated millions of years ago or from a few hundred years of rolling around in a creek bed. Vast amounts of information are found inside the layers of rocks, and ice, for that matter—information that tells us a story to which we should be paying attention.

The element of reflection is seen frequently across my practice. Mirrors are full of meaning. They have a similarity to water, specifically still water, and its ability to reflect the surrounding landscapes. Mirrors are signifiers of identity, of subjectivity. Additionally, the elements of light and shadow are meaningful in my work. Shadows are a literal representation of our animal-like existence on earth: they are evidence of our materiality. Just the same as all other beings and things (with exceptions of transparent materials such as glass) on this planet, sunbeams halt at the presence of our bodies. Our shadows are just one distinct similarity we hold in common with boulders and storm clouds. Shadows, in this way, highlight flaws in the hierarchies that Western culture sets from nature.

Within my practice, technologies, such as 3D scanning, are applied as tools to connect the natural and manufactured world. I appropriate natural forms such as rocks and icebergs, either in their actual state or as 3D scans of the form. I am interested in how a computer takes an organic, natural form and transforms it into a harsh triangulated geometry. I am intrigued by how the computer views everything— even us humans— as a series of multiple triangles. Our raw human eyes are blind to the basic building blocks of every physical thing—atoms. Yet, the computer sees this simplified connection between everything. 

In dissecting the barriers that we, as humans, create as a separation from the surrounding landscape, I hope to cultivate a deeper understanding of these barriers. Why do they exist? How did they come into existence? To create change, one must understand how we ended up here, and at which point the connection broke down. With a greater understanding of our position within nature, an empathetic link can be formed to our more-than-human surroundings. Empathy is not only needed but is crucial in this time of a landscape demanding human change.