Artist's Statement

My work blurs the line between the realms of portrait and landscape on an ecological and metaphysical level, as well as an aesthetic one.

What does this mean? Is it simply about (re)presenting place as conscious? Discussing a relationship between emotion and place, between person, community, and ecosystem, between anatomy and space as an extension of our bodies?

This blurring reads as anthropomorphic or mythopoetic, but it is not about fantasy. This archetypal language is not only used in myth but also in dreams and visions, of our subconscious. Metaphor is the language that we use when describing to a friend something either person has never been exposed to or understood, in which we discuss what is beyond our comprehension; it is the language of anticipated enlightenment.

Our mythology is in a language of metaphors written when we lived closer to the wild. How does it apply to us now that its language does not apply to our common observations, to our daily lives? What place do these symbols have in an urban landscape?

My art attempts to restore honest detail and thoughtful pauses to modern storytelling, too often reduced to a series of sound bytes. Restored in this way to wholeness, storytelling is a context in which to discuss these subconscious understandings. Uncovered detail and observed pauses provide points of entry into the sacred spaces at the root of common humanity.

I relate to nature as a tangible metaphor for all our civilization considers sacred. I treat it as respectfully as I know how. In a modern society this respect does not come innately with the intention; it is a discipline. My art is now concerned with nature’s (and our) sustainability.

“…if people can directly observe how the city works, they can then direct their actions and ideas towards the construction of a meaningful public life.” -Mierle Laderman Ukeles