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Works from 2006

Undergrowth

Installation, 23' x 15'. Steel, aluminum, cotton, nylon, and single channel rear-projection video loop, 20 min. 2006.

Undergrowth consists of a video loop projected onto an angled, curved screen. The imagery is of an unsteady, lurching movement through a meadow looking skyward. The rhythmic wash of traffic noise is synchronized with the movements in the video. References to aquatic, terrestrial, and mechanistic environments are mediated by electronic reproduction and offer an immersive experience for the viewer. I am interested in the various environmental realms we inhabit- (our mind, the physical body, the natural and built environments, time) and how these interact/overlap and affect each other. Undergrowth is an exploration of our conscious experience of these environments.

play excerpt (2:00, 6.1 MB) - Quicktime format
play excerpt (2:00, 4.9 MB) - Windows Media format

(click on image)

Resurgency

2006, 25' x 17'. Algae, paper, plaster, soil, concrete rubble, and single channel rear-projection video loop, 63 min.

Resurgency is composed of a field of biomorphic forms that seem to have erupted from the concrete flooring in various stages of growth, along with an animated video projection of similar ovoid-shaped entities. Taken together, the work is intended to allude to the unrelenting cyclic regeneration of the natural world, and our diverse and ambivalent attitudes toward it. The time scales presented by the various elements are indeterminate- acknowledging time as another part of the natural environment. The cave-like atmosphere is redolent with a primaeval fecundity, an optimistic vision of a future not contingent on humanities' at times myopic behaviors

(click on image)

Reminding Room

2006, 11' x 8' x 8'. Algae, wooden box, furniture, fabrics, found glass vessels, lights, pumps.

Reminding Room is an experiment in visual meditation, in which an individual could sit and focus on their own awareness and connectedness to a mediated version of the natural world. The gallery visitor is invited to slow down and spend time observing living algae and their own degree of mindfulness. The piece consisted of cylindrical space in a rectangular space, within a circular curtain. The box was built by the artist and has four doors that only one of which opened. After advancing through these distracting layers, visitors had the opportunity to spend quiet meditative time with a basic life form. Conversely, these same layers then reinforced the quietude of the psychic environment. The interior was plush and neutral in coloring, allowing for focused attention on the plant life in the jars.

(click on image)

LightWater

2006, dim. variable, water, lights, lenses, steel, glass, cloth, valves.

Intended for the viewer to observe slow and subtle changes in projected light, raising self-awareness in the act of perception. Shown are 2 of 5 designs realized.

LightWater #2 is a light and lens assembly that highlights the articulations on the spotlight lens. The sail on the lens suspension cables catches subtle air movements in the room, modulating the projected image on the wall. There were full and half-circle versions. Play video of the projection (1:26, 2.5 MB)

LightWater #3 is a system that dispenses water into a concave glass plate that is heated from below by a high wattage lamp. A projection of the water appears on the wall behind, and the lens in the side allows for a close-up view of the plate. The materials used in construction are common industrial products, inspired by the methods used in laboratories to quickly build experimental apparatus.

Bloom

2006, digital video, 1:47.

Bloom is at once a nostalgic elegy for a time of pre-industrial indigenous culture and the purity of the natural environment, while also acknowledging their mythic fiction. This doubling of meaning emerges in the visual imagery of the video, which is indeterminate in scale and time span, resembling alternately a seaside beach, a wetland/swamp, or a planet being populated. The soundtrack is taken from a scratchy vinyl record from the 1950’s of the Hawaiian Aloha song, Aloha Oe (Aloha is a traditional term of greeting and farewell). These elements combine to elicit questions about the interplay and relativity of control over cultural artifacts and ecological systems, and various definitions of utopian ideals.

play excerpt (0:40, 1.2 MB) - Quicktime format
play excerpt (0:40, 308 KB) - Windows Media format

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