2022
project set
The Tumbleweed, for Example is a set of three distinct but interconnected projects created for my MFA thesis at RISD.
Drawing from a wide range of eco-critical theory, the projects visually summarize two years of academic research and extensive material experimentation, critically examining photography's role in shaping the American landscape imagination and its ties to the climate crisis. Many of these ideas are not new—that's partly what compels me to make this work and to experiment so broadly (in tone, method, and material).
Each project uses a different artistic approach—from video (The Great Delusion), to photography and text (Pervasive), to sculptural installation (The Tumbleweed). Together, these projects aim to create a conversation across mediums, offering multiple entry points and ways to think about related topics and ideas.
Ultimately, this work sits in that strange space between playful curiosity and earnest critique, a place I frequently encounter when addressing issues like climate change. And it embraces the many unruly questions along the way.
While I don't expect to create any more metal tumbleweeds or didactic videos in the days ahead, these projects provided important groundwork for my creative practice, especially in rethinking the frame itself and how we represent and relate to the natural world at large.
Installations:
Guild Cinema
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Microscope Gallery
New York, New York
RISD Graduate Show
Providence, Rhode Island