Artist Statement

Seeking a path away from a world on the edge of a dystopian reality and towards one that embraces the multi-faceted and essential intelligences of Earth’s species and the Earth itself, I create paintings to upend the dominant – Western – ideology of human exceptionalism. Using color, scale, and some surrealist re-imaginings of “reality,” I entangle an array of species, each an exemplar of a unique intelligence or consciousness. I highlight a view of Nature and the Earth as an intelligent web of life. My narratives are framed by grouping images such as human neurons infiltrating “nature,” a female body (images are borrowed from art history) grasping on to nature, or other species (such as octopuses, trees, fungi). Together, these represent the complex yet still mysterious intelligences that together constitute Earth’s consciousness. I use unnatural scale and color relationships to highlight contradictory positions and open a space for questioning assumptions of what is normal or acceptable regarding how we humans think of ourselves in relation to nature.

I primarily paint on unstretched canvas, which adds a more organic aura to the painting than is possible with canvases stretched onto a frame. My preferred materials are Flashe paint, oils (with water or linseed / coconut oil as solvents), and watercolor. I often begin a painting by collaging images on my iPad and create iterations of sketches. This process continues as I work on the physical painting – I will explore options on the iPad before committing to them. Another influence is my day job, in which I mentor scientists across a wide array of disciplines to help shape their research ideas into competitive grant proposals that aim address critical societal and scientific problems.