Our species’ ability to adapt and endure may only be surpassed by our ability to devour and transform. As our impact on our planet continues to accelerate, it is becoming clearer that the one condition we may not adapt fast enough to, is the human condition. Central to my work is confronting the collective ego that keeps us from seeing our true nature.

The dialogue I hope to initiate is to challenge exalted notions of our species as special, separate and above nature. When we see ourselves as different we can disassociate ourselves from the impact of our actions and convince ourselves that we are beyond reach of their consequences.

The anthropocene is the geological period we are living in. The implication is that our imprint is now a permanent fixture of the natural world and will be identifiable long after we are gone. A discussion of the anthropocene shifts the conversation to the past tense, as a vehicle to contemplate, at least hypothetically, our suffering and demise at the hands of our own actions.

The idea that human-made objects will become part of the geologic strata that defines our epoch, is already a reality. In shores around the world, sedimentary rocks composed of shell and coral fragments with inclusions of plastic and metal are becoming common. This new form of sedimentary stone is called plastiglomerate. Researching these objects I am finding enormous inspiration and potential to enrich my visual language with additional materials and colors, as well as offering a path to explore abstraction and evolve my figurative work.

The sculptures I am working on now are abstracted representations of our remnants. The imprint we will leave on the geological record. These remnants are also portraits. The head is the archetypal symbols of civilization, conquest, overbuilding, technology, etc. The body is an agglomeration, a mix of past and present symbology that could allude to iterations, resources, byproducts, or consequences associated with the head.

These forms incorporate clay, concrete, metal, and resin with the addition of found objects, similar to plastiglomerates. In their presentation, I want to emote a subtle sense of suspension and disassociation from place and time. I want to take the viewer out of his environment and context by placing them in a dark space (black-box). These archetypal forms will hang slightly above the viewers’ heads with lighting that isolates the objects. Hanging the work in this manner will create tension, representing the evasive nature of our challenges, were the problems are bluntly before us but the solutions always slightly out of reach. I am presenting our mortality. I want my audience to be grounded to confront their vulnerability.