between topographies of abandon // light clings to the corners of tomorrow // from which we cannot leave

192x44", handmade paper, 2021

If one is to believe the climate prophets, there is no hope for a happy ending. This work invites the viewer to contemplate the incredible tragedy of our shared, dark future.  The foundation of the imagery is handmade paper, a black cotton pulp slowly drained over hours, carved into form by fresh water running and cascading, clotting, and coagulating, creating chaotic, negative space.  Upon close examination, the viewer can illuminate the countless perforations flowing throughout the piece depending on how they align themselves with the backlighting.  These illuminated pinholes detail flowing patterns in the watersheds of the piece, disappearing with the viewer’s gait.  Feeding on pareidolia, the viewer is encouraged to cloud-read their desires, anxieties and neuroses in the topography.  

This is the world we share, identifying with the existential threat it occupies in our emotional selves.  The transparent base sheet of handmade abaca paper is watermarked, tooled, and overlays the black pulp with a lighter element, unifying both through illumination over time.  Within the darkness that demands resignation, there is an inexhaustible light moving us along.  One’s relationship to these oppositional constants has the potential to create new elements, ones that unexpectedly transform and elevate with an illuminating beauty.