My work is driven by a curiosity about the evolving relationship between science, technology, and the natural world – and the ways these systems shape, disrupt, and inform one another. I am attracted to the idea of contradictory and incongruous dualities that can coexist such as chaos/order, natural/artificial, entropy/regeneration.
My imagery is inspired by aerial news photography – those hyper-detailed, dizzying landscapes of natural disaster aftermaths, drought and deforestation, and the controlled chaos of construction sites. These photos provide a basis for my study drawings, which I make using a blind contour continuous line technique that abstracts the image spontaneously. I then hand-trace my drawings in overlapping iterations onto a translucent film (Duralar), using mixed mediums like graphite, permanent marker, acrylic ink, or oil paint.
My recent Untitled Protest Series, began in 2021 in response to the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, among others, and the subsequent global surge of Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality and social injustice. Following the reversal of Roe v. Wade the next summer, I felt a renewed sense of urgency while witnessing and participating in the Bans Off Our Bodies demonstrations to advocate for women’s bodily autonomy and reproductive choice.
The interwoven calligraphic line and optical color in my work create an allover pattern, with specific features of the original reference photo still visible. I enjoy finding the edge where Representation meets Abstraction. My hope is that viewers can perceive both the individual layers and their cumulative effect, experiencing an illusion of motion that evokes a visceral disorientation.
My artistic affinities align with artists who layer graphic pattern and incorporate hand-drawn linear elements, such as Franz Kline, Agnes Martin, Julie Mehretu, Terry Winters, and Jackson Pollock. During my early development, I was strongly influenced by the German and Figurative expressionists, Max Beckmann, Richard Diebenkorn, Klimt, Modersohn-Becker, and Schiele. I have always loved Op-Art and admire colorists with electric palettes like Bridget Riley, Frank Stella and Wayne Thiebaud.