Nature and Threads

Artist’s Statement

My work explores a personal landscape where nature is inseparable from consciousness and the ephemeral state of the body. Settings vary from microcosm to macrocosm, but my style is inspired by the transitory—ocean waves, the cycle of life in the garden, and the breath. There are metaphors of loss, connection, strength, and vulnerability in scenes ranging from my backyard garden to vast expanses, all in an attempt to understand our ever-changing relationship with the environment.

My processes mirror these thoughts. I start with the magic of the ephemeral moment in the photograph, a combination dependent on light, water, and alchemy. Each work then involves an attempted preservation or mending by hand, through sewing or using encaustic wax and collage. These actions of intervention, destroying and recreating the image, are similar to the way we are currently reshaping the natural world around us.

Often representing solitary travelers, these images depict altered landscapes with a feeling of longing for connection and sanctuary. Yet a sense of wonder remains. They invoke universal stories and conversations across time, space, and perception, which connect us all—although sometimes tenuously. The answers I seek in ecological knowledge are found in understanding our reciprocal connection with all living beings, in the roots of the garden, the reverence of the sky, and the leftover butterflies.

Read more from Issue 21.1.