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The staging of temporary atmospheres
Pieces of Sky on a Retaining Wall, 2014
Pieces of Atmosphere in Sierra Valley, 2014
Shapes of Atmosphere Dropping In, 2014
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Shapes of Atmosphere on a Country Road, 2014
Shapes of Atmosphere on a Picnic Table, 2014
Shapes of Atmosphere at the Beach, 2014
Shapes of atmosphere on a Eucalyptus stump, 2014
Shapes of Atmosphere at Lake Merritt Beach, Oakland, 2014
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Recent geological discoveries are linking underground microbes to plate tectonics. The evolution of the many mineral deposits we build our world with has happened in lock step with ancient biology. Deep under the sea floor, in the miles of hot pressurized rocks, lives a huge habitat of newly discovered zombie microbes that can live for thousands, if not millions of years. This new biome stretches our definitions and boundaries of life. Ranging from the Gypsum board walls in our homes to their use in many computer based technologies, these varied minerals and their microbial partners could be slowly orchestrating life on earth. This discovery and its cumulative impact on how we see inanimate objects hint at a new animism that I explore with my wood sculpture and photographs of plaster shapes in the world. Oakland has many public spaces where the natural world interacts with our built environments. These are the places I am interested in.
STUMPSCAPES at Carkeek park, Seattle WA. Part of a outdoor sculpture show about living with climate change.
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In The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan proposes that apples may be manipulating humans into planting more apple trees, an interaction similar to how flowers use honeybees to spread pollen. The idea of assigning intention, and even consciousness to what I had previously considered mostly inanimate resonates with me. I have come to think that certain minerals and elements may be sentient, and can adapt to new environments with their own technologies. I have a gut feeling that minerals like gypsum, iron and oil may be seducing and exploiting our human ingenuity to achieve their own ends.
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