If saltwater heals wounds
A series of LED integrated installations based on my memories of the coastal ecologies of Southern Rhode Island, as warped through digital technology.
2024
W: 48", H: 12", D: 48"
Sand, masonite, 3D prints, LED strips, wire, circuit board, lamp
to be guided by the moon references the mass gathering of horseshoe crabs every late Spring on mid- Atlantic and New England beaches to reproduce. These ancient creatures, who are recognisable as they were 480 million years ago, are attuned to when the moon is either full or new, and use it as their sign to gather, despite the fact that shorelines have changed dramatically in their time on earth. In this work, digital media is employed to attempt to recreate this ritual, emphasizing the sense of the communal and eternal. The work speculates on what the future of this ancient gathering looks like in an increasingly human altered environment.
to be guided by the moon
2024
W: 56", H: 3", D: 36"
Sand, LEDs, wire, circuit boards, acrylic, mat board, dichroic film
I remember how the sanderlings go is an attempt to recreate my memories of watching sanderlings run to and from the water on the beach. Photos of the birds in motion are used as references to create silhouettes, through which individual LEDs create an analog animation sequence. At each stage of production, the image of the birds is transmuted through another layer of digital imitation. Motion sensors track viewers in order to activate the sequence - in order to see the sanderlings move, you must move with them. This piece both works to honor my memories of the sanderlings, while exploring what gets lost in digital imitation of natural creatures and their movements.
i remember how the sanderlings go
2024
Dimensions variable
Bristol board, LED strips, acrylic, wire, circuit board
if everything is connected explores the interconnectedness of living beings, natural processes, and degradation in an ecosystem. Shells, as a placeholder for “homes” more broadly, are connected to each other with light and braided wires. They are interwoven with vinyl and riddled with holes - referencing the proliferation of microplastics into natural ecosystems and the degradation of shells due to ocean acidification. Just as the shells are interconnected, so are the materials of their natural world with the human in a global materials exchange - as the natural earth is mined for minerals used in technology, the byproducts of human manufacturing in turn are deposited and engrained in natural environments.
