Trees are the root of my practice. The first decade of my work consisted of sculptures, photographs, and performances that attempt to help my audience see trees from a new perspective. I climbed a tree everyday for over three years and used inspiration from these experiences to develop new projects.
With my daily exposure to trees and their surroundings, I found a growing interest in related issues of ecology and the human impact on our urban environment. I began to shift my work towards speculative fictional sculptures that imagined alternative human/tree relationships.
Going forward, I intend to focus my research and practice on urban ecology through various methods in new media. I always keep an open eye to new technologies and methodologies of making. With every new medium, I find new concepts to create engaging experiences that are at times abstract and immersive, and other times participatory and instructive.
A benefit from working in a university is the opportunity for collaboration. Every new place I visit I consider and respond to the unique ecological conditions. Then using a mix of method and media, I include my fellow educators, students, and surrounding community to further highlight our evolving relationship with the land.
All of these projects depict the playful relationship between humans and their environment and a rediscovery of our common urban surroundings. By exploring vertically and engaging physically with the trees and structures we normally pass by, the hope is to reconnect and find new value in the ignored and forgotten corners of our everyday lives.
The most recent evolution in my practice is best represented by my latest public art project, Bike Sense Louisville. Sensors collected data from cyclist volunteers which were then translated into sound in real time. This project ran from July 2019 - July 2020. The interpreted data and results can be seen here.