With an interest in the complex systems that structure our planet, I investigate the flexible boundaries between the built world and the environment. The use of natural items is important to this process. I extract organic materials and subjugate them in an attempt at order and control. However, the items retain their inherently unruly qualities, forcing me to give them agency. This push and pull between me and the material mimic the fallible attempts of human authority over the environment. The process and resulting works illuminate this relationship and highlight how natural organisms will continue to evade human restraint.
I approach my studio practice with an optimism for the future of our collective world through the examination of resilient systems that make up the environment. I am interested in how human and non-human partnerships are a way to a more sustainable and symbiotic future. For example, To Pass Through Two Doors at Once, is a large sculpture made from mycelium-grown bricks. Through both process and shape, the sculpture demonstrates the interactions between human and non-human beings. Echoing the ruins of human-built structures, the bricks themselves are created through a highly complex natural process. The sculpture offers a physical metaphor for human interaction with the natural world and examines how we might cultivate alternative relationships with non-human partners.
By revealing the intertwined relationships between humans and nature, my work promotes a greater comprehension of how our built world has direct and drastic effects on the environment. Through my studio practice, I intend to deepen the viewers connection to the networks that make up our world. Ultimately the work offers a sense of hope for the future of our planet, encouraging discussions about the elaborate ecosystems we live within and solutions for their, and our, continued survival.