Artist Statement
Currently, I am moving between two bodies of work: woodscapes and rock piles. I have been working en plein air for the last ten years, and returning to the woods has become a ritual. In a sense, I have grown into adulthood, as I have observed the woods undergo many stages of life, death, and rebirth. I am fascinated by the symmetry between human development and change, and the natural world’s wheel. While we differ, I find wisdom in comparing to better determine how I will navigate my life. The interconnectedness between humans and nature leads my studio research.
Natural attraction led me to the woods near where I grew up, and I stayed because it is where I feel safest. While I mostly return to the same woods, I do work en plein air at other sites. As a gay, neurodivergent male witch the woods are where I feel the most freedom to be myself. Throughout history, people have fled to the woods for safety of expression and celebration, and now I follow the lead of the witches’ past. Knowing that the woods has been a place of refuge, creates an echo of a community I did not know I lost. My desire to escape reality and pretend the woods are separate worlds unaffected by society has allowed me to camouflage and hide. In fact, the work oscillates between flat and spatial, and between welcoming and pushing away the viewer.
The word, “witch” has many definitions; it is socially, historically, and spiritually charged. While every witch’s practice and path are different, my earth-based lens deeply informs my studio work. I am very interested in the connections between my identity as a witch and gay man. The witch has always reflected society’s most powerful prejudices, fears and ignorance, and history tells us that anyone who is different may expect to face severe if not fatal consequences. As a result, loss infiltrates every aspect of society and erases the voices of individuals, as well as whole communities and cultures. My practice honors what has been lost, and I am aware of feeling like my work is an effort to rebuild and restore. My work is a library of memory and experience that is influenced by a desire to preserve what is in danger and unearth what has been lost. While it may not be literally represented or obvious in my work, these ideas inform, motivate, and direct my studio research.
Several years ago, I began collecting rocks while walking to or away from my spot in the woods. This allowed me to bring the woods inside the studio. The rock pile series has forced me to stand my ground and quit hiding, which is why Rainbow Road is the working title. These pieces investigate ideas of strength and power, while referring to the history of rocks as markers along a journey. I draw the color and energy out of the forms to honor their vitality and presence. Another idea I am interested in pushing is how the rocks accumulate into bodies or interact with each other like people.
While I am most interested in conveying how nature and its forms mirror the human experience, I acknowledge the work conveys my specific experience. I am wrestling with identity, place, and community and how home is relative to an individual’s “place” in the societal hierarchy. For me, nature is queer, because it is everything for all without consequence. My work reflects a history of hiding and retreat but is entering a new phase of vulnerability; I consider what it means to be seen and heard. All our journeys are distinct, and I hope my work emphasizes our shared origin from nature, while honoring the complex relationships we have with one another, society, and the earth.