Artist Statement

I am a multi-disciplinary artist who combines movement, materials, and space to speak about the human condition. I am interested in metaphors for struggle, primarily within the construct of social hierarchies as well as the physical places we inhabit. These include public spaces, cultural landmarks, and the common spectacle, all understood via themes related to Nature.

My relationship to this subject developed from an urban upbringing; one encouraged by the romanticism of a Western value system. The Great Outdoors possesses beauty and awe for me. More often than not, privilege—the kind held by those in power as well as by those who do not—taints my perception of it, making the search for happiness elusive. The gap between opposing forces becomes ever-widening in my exploration, especially as a person of color in white-dominated spaces. Here, construction hinders growth, accumulation betrays worth, and success replaces integrity. This is the continuous plight that drives me.

In my movement forward, I use walking, breathing, and athleticism as a catalyst to fulfill the body’s need to fit directly into particular landscapes. Objects such as books, baggage, and structural landmarks designate arrival and departure. Travel is performed as both tourist and commuter. I participate in solo and group hikes, practice mark-making with wet and dry media, and execute methodical, sometimes arduous rituals of process and organization. All of these actions reflect and mimic the cyclical order of the world.

By moving slowly, with guaranteed frustration and inevitable weariness, I make my way through an interminable, beautiful landscape.

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As an avid collaborator, I am also interested in working with others who, because of timing or coincidence, meet me somewhere between skill sharing and friendship to create meaningful interactions. Sometimes these efforts result in immediate teacher-to-student encounters. Other times they have athletic/psychological purposes, such as a training run or team-building exercise. In every case, I enjoy the company of others because they provide connection in a time when it is most needed.