"If perception is reality, each work allows the viewer to project their own anxieties, hopes, and fears."
I begin by encasing fruit that has been endangered due to industrial farming in synthetic resin. Organic matter, such as paw paw flesh or Roxbury Russet apple blossoms, contains moisture, which reacts to the urethane resin, causing bubbles, foaming, and deterioration of the fruit. In turn, these reactions form new environments inside the sculptures. A light box allows light to radiate through the objects, providing wonder and provoking curiosity as to what has been preserved.
Drawing on the history of the Hudson River School painters, I also construct my own landscapes. In my studio, I set up the resin specimens as still lifes and use studio materials to form scenes which resemble apocalyptic landscapes. I paint these still lifes directly from observation, working with other scientists and professionals who study nature.
Without the intact form of the tangible organic matter, viewers are unable to detect a specific time, place, or subject in my work, which mimics the dissociations with reality many people experience today. If perception is reality, each work allows the viewer to project their own anxieties, hopes, and fears.
