STATEMENT

Life experiences are shaped by our surroundings- natural, geopolitical, and cultural forces set limits on our growth and shape what we become. These forces, and our subjective experience of them, form a sort of personal geography wildly distinct from even those around us who share the space we inhabit. Elements from my own personal geography form the basis of this work. I practice a sort of regionalism- I have been irrevocably altered by the high deserts of Nevada; therefore my work is very much a product of this place. This is an attempt to move beyond generalized place-based observation and into a singular exploration of place as it relates to the self.

My work is process oriented, rising out of site-specific actions and experiences. Field recordings, images, video and small objects are culled from places I’ve identified as major geographic elements within my surroundings. These elements are installed in the gallery the form of collage- including the use of projection, soundscape, and wall and floor pieces. Poem fragments, art remnants, and other marks are sometimes left within the site that the work emerges from, and documentation of these is included in the installation. A dialogue is created between the site without and the distorted fragments composing the installation within. These disparate parts highlight the gap between subjective experience and the objective substance of our surroundings.