Preservation Woods, 2015
acrylic, graphite on 10 prepared archival foam core panels
80 x 160"
The woods are populated with taxidermy animals that are inserted into the scene. Both the backdrop and the animals are from original photography. There is a personal connection to each image and memory of photo locations. The woods were photographed in Stehekin, Washington while the white deer came from a frame shop in Tempe, AZ. The zebra was found in a bar in Florence, AZ and the Jacob ram was in a hair salon in downtown Phoenix.
Preservation Woods- install shot
Arizona Biennial, Tucson Museum of Art, 2015
Preservation Woods- detail
The Woods, 2009
graphite on prepared wooden panel
24 x 54"
The Woods represents the suicide of someone I met once. The imagined scene is populated with 50 animals to illustrate the imprinting death creates in the location of the act.
Narrative: Within a few days she bought a gun, made some positive phone calls, and left her dog with a friend. She parked at the trailhead, walked three miles, and then another 1/8 mile off the trail. Her body was not found for weeks.
The Woods- detail
The Woods Series
This series started with a drawing portraying an event that took place in a woods setting. This stirred up my desire to create more drawings set within a woods backdrop.