Artist Statement

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            In nature, various marks and traces are made through chemical and physical forces. Strata, woodgrains, stalagmites, crystals, and coral are such markings in nature that record the passing of long periods of time. Exploring the relationship between time and natural phenomena, in my practice, I mimic the processes in nature through the construction of an ecosystem in which the passage of time is inferred on both a micro and macro scale. 

 

            Using paraffin wax, a versatile material, I create an ecosystem that conjures the notion of a subject lost in time, in the sense that some events are impossible to witness from beginning to end, like standing at the foot of a mountain and witnessing an avalanche, living in a cave through the wet and dry seasons, or witnessing the changing of sea tides. To do this, I create a system comprised of multiple parts and steps that begins with ‘feeding’, or adding wax pellets. The wax is subsequently melted by heat lamps and thus, falls through the mesh panel accumulating and growing over time like a plant or living organism. The continuous growth and change in appearance of the mounds from their dripping form to their white crystals, and its impermanency resembles a capricious but eternal nature.

 

         My repetitive labor recodes the duration of time which plays a significant role in my practice. The process of transforming synthetic materials generates a borderline; a threshold between reality and the make-believe. The ecosystems in my work are however, self-aware– conscious of their fabrication just as the wolves, bears, and rabbits know that they are not human in fairy tales. By engaging with forces outside of my control, I explore the boundaries of human presence and the practices of reproduction and duplication, integrating both the natural and artificial to blur the lines between both.