Fire, 2022
Pulped paper, soil, black clay, steel nails
5 ft. x 3.5 ft. x 3.5 ft.
Fire and Earth, are fashioned after African spirit vessels. Initiated during moments of ritual or ceremony, such vessels are called upon for a multitude of purposes that include safeguarding communities and healing the sick. Fire is set apart by its distinct materials, including repurposed nails that pierce it’s surface, and their similarity to the nails found in Kongo Nkisi or “power figures.” Earth is distinguished with Otjize (red clay) known as “guardian” as well as reed grass. Both Fire and Earth perform as spirit vessels, summoning ancestral spirits to guide, heal, and protect. It also represents the ancestor’s spirit home and a repository for the community’s letters to them.
Earth, 2022
Pulped paper, soil, red clay,
reed grass, hemp thread
2 ft. x 1.5 ft. x 1.5 ft.
Journey 2022
Reed grass, hemp thread
7 ft. x 7 ft. x 1.5 ft.
The complex depth of form in Journey and Roots inspires the viewer to think more
deeply and abstractly about the strengths and weaknesses of animate and inanimate
attachments. Like previous works, I tend to conceptualize the piece as it relates to
individuals, society and our potential to evolve. Claiming the contradictory elements of “stability” and “growth” or “sameness” and “change.”
The binding of materials relate to the discipline to learn and the will to continue. Implicit in our journey is the obligation to apply and pass on what we have learned along the way, in turn informing our journey as we progress harkening, back to the wisdom of our roots.
Roots, 2022
Reed grass, hemp thread
7 ft. x 2 ft. x 1.5 ft.
Choir, 2022
Wood wall lath, jute rope
8 ft. x 28 ft. x 5 ft.
I originally conceived the sculpture as a two-dimensional labyrinth to be built from old wall lathing I had salvaged from demolished homes. After beginning the process, however, the idea to create a more abstract three-dimensional labyrinth took hold. The addition of the third dimension (depth) was designed to increase the complexity of form, hopefully inspiring the viewer to think more deeply and abstractly about its meaning, especially as it relates to individuals, society and the potential to evolve.
It was not until I actually started construction that I began fully to appreciate the properties of the wood (tension, for instance) as well as the possibility for greater symbolic meaning, I realized a three-dimensional labyrinth would require construction and assembly of many smaller, independent sculptures. To me, the separate pieces represented individuals, bound in tension, tied to the fortunes of their neighbors. The labyrinth was never intended to have an entrance, exit, or solution, for that matter only a pathway to understanding our relationship with one another.
New Growth is a metaphor about nurturing wisdom gained through growth and experience, it's about our connection to our ancestors and to nature.
The physical materials are synthetic hair, hand-rolled into individual locks, and decorated to represent the elements with metal, wood, ceramic, seed and shell beads. Figuratively growing on and eventually growing into nature as, symbolized with driftwood. Connecting both driftwood and hair is cotton thread, conceptually passing on heritage, its traditions and the knowledge that accumulates.
New Growth, 2019
Driftwood, synthetic hair, cotton thread, metal, wood, ceramic, seed and shell beads
9 ft. x 3 ft. x 3 1/2 ft.
Amendment, 2018
Driftwood, clay, soil, jute
12 ft. x 22 ft. x 9 ft.
The Amendment Earthworks Project: Here in Cleveland, nature will incorporate 3,000 toxic acres of vacant post-industrial space back into the eco-system. Most often these desecrated second-hand spaces are in urban communities. The Amendment Projects are small-scale earthworks that will help nature restore healthy habitats. Sculptural objects made of nutrient rich materials will amend soil deficiencies, as they’re absorbed by the landscape.
At face-value the amendment project is a beautification project, but it is also guerrilla gardening. The sculptural works exhibited will transform toxic ground into a healthier habitat, preparing the soil for anyone that would like to use it to grow food crops. The Amendment project’s goals are to create works that affect environmental change, to use art and exhibition to confront the degradation of urban land and community. To encourage the public to think critically about the environmental challenges facing our urban eco-systems and reinforce the connections between the environment and our daily lives.
Reconstruction, 2009
Stained wood wall lath
12 ft. x 5 ft. x 3 ft.
This was a meditative piece that provided an opportunity to lose myself in the creative process. I had no idea how it would evolve, only that I wanted to create something like a screened reconciliation room.
By stacking and layering recycled wood wall lathe, I hoped to create the desired effect. I joined the lathe face to face to make individual panels and slotted them together to create a standing installation through which light could filter naturally, much like a thick forest.
