Habitat Integration
Having devoted a lot of energy to arctic themes, I am widening that exploration to other climates and habitats. The intricacy of our interconnected world attracts my close observation. These pieces all involve places I have spent time, in wonder and curiosity.
Companion Animals, 2025
Oil on varied papers, collaged.
76" x 112"
My approach to collage does not involve scavenging for found imagery, but rather repurposing my own paintings. This act of cutting and tearing my painted surfaces reflects the ruptures and violence inherent within our sin-plagued world. There is a loss, and energetic release, in breaking apart the painted images. My task, then, is to combine fragments in ways that bring a greater beauty and imagination.
Collage inherently allows for jarring perspectives on a motif or concept to be placed in relation to each other. I have been using this to explore the same landscape over time – the depletion of ice sheets, for example. Collage, applied to the landscape, becomes a tool to show hidden histories and connotations within a space. The collaged pieces incorporate multiple perspectives, times, and visual languages to create a whole that is more multivalent than the original seamless images. The scars and rending remain visible even after the fragments are enmeshed in new relationships, working toward a new wholeness.
