Ground Truthing

 
solo exhibition at the Francis McCray Gallery, Silver City, NM 
March 19th - April 9th 2026


Ground Truthing brings together fragmented rock, microbial films, and fungal networks to reframe human relationships to the natural world. In science, ground truthing refers to validating remote sensing data through direct observation in the field. In the gallery, the ground truth is formed from site-specific investigations in the Silver City region that examine tensions between anthropogenic legacies and non-human agency.

Ground Truthing consists of four interrelated collections of work. Dried kombucha SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast), grown with water from the Gila River, is illuminated to reveal abstracted imagery of vulnerable riparian sites. Mycelial networks, the root system of a fungus, consume printed images of anthropogenic interventions in the land. Rocks collected from Boston Hill mining sites are combined with sculpted mycelium, presenting the fungus as an agent of care, capable of eroding rock and remediating soils. River confluences are rendered through meticulous graphite marks, suggesting the resurgence and disappearance of delicate ecosystems. Through materially centered projects, I investigate the illusory boundaries between the built and natural worlds, working to reveal their tangled, interdependent relationships.

My work grapples with the contradiction of caring deeply for the environment while participating in systems leading to its destruction. This conflict underscores my concepts and processes as I facilitate human and non-human partnerships to envision a more symbiotic future. Mycelial networks, bacterial colonies, and found natural items are guides in sculptures, drawings, and prints. As a non-scientist, these connections are deeply intuitive, materializing as a push and pull between myself and my other-than-human companions. By fostering relationships with living organisms, I begin to think outside of my humanness, expanding my understanding of knowledge, intelligence, and ways of being in the world.

As materials and active collaborators, bacterial and fungal networks guide me toward a more hopeful and connected world. My non-human collaborators inspire attentiveness, curiosity, and excitement during perilous times. In contrast to humans, mycelium and kombucha SCOBY participate in reciprocal relationships with other organisms. Intertwined, they form a life raft that increases their collective chance of survival. Through their inherent biological processes, these organisms reveal alternative ways of existence that move beyond the anthropocentric perspective.

Collapsing the distance between the microscopic and the topographical, Ground Truthing encourages viewers to slow down and notice eons of geological activity recorded in a single rock and the intricate networks thriving underground. By engaging with specific sites and materials, this exhibition asks how we can cultivate care for vulnerable ecologies by examining organic processes as models for fostering a mutually beneficial world.