Introduction
I am a a mixed media painter based in New England.
I use the narrative potential of body language, allusions to mythology, scientific data and archival research to confront the existential trauma of environmental crises.
My work considers: How do historical practices and cultural beliefs inform contemporary relationships to the natural world? How does the analytical mind understand, and the intuitive body react?Unaware
I was born in the mid-20th century during “The Great Acceleration”, a period of exponential growth in fossil-fuel emissions, chemical pollutants and other global trends that are directly linked to extreme climate events and environmental crises. For much of my life, I was blissfully unaware of these trends. When Superstorm Sandy pummeled our home in New York and devastating wildfires threatened family in California, I began to pay serious attention.
Research and Despair
I started reading obsessively about ecology and climate, from scientific reports in barely decipherable jargon to investigative journalism in alarmingly clear language. I became hyper-aware of news about catastrophic monsoons and devastating drought, ocean acidification and disappearing glaciers, deforestation and mass species extinctions. A growing sense of despair lead me to research ecological anxiety. My artwork shifted in reaction.
Collective Trauma, Science and Information Overload
The Viral Load series, created during the Covid-19 pandemic, solidified my current approach to addressing collective trauma:
I combine research about the causality of trauma, in the form of data, text, symbols and diagrams, with archetypal figures that embody complex stressors: the physical trauma of environmental disasters, the emotional trauma of eco-anxieties and the cognitive trauma of overwhelming information.
Anthropocene Apocalypse: Ancient Myth, Eco-Anxiety and Modern Narrative
Apocalyptic tales of planetary devastation, caused by supernatural forces, are found in cultural traditions throughout history. 21st century climate systems disruption and environmental decline, however, can be directly attributed to the cumulative actions of industrialized humanity. I adapt mythologies from the cultural heritage of Western civilization as narrative frameworks for these complex Anthropocene realities.
In my practice, I consider how visual art can be used to communicate in ways that engage the emotions as well as the mind. My layers of symbolic and text elements, references to history and myth, scientific and archival research, and use of body language to signal distress, examine how emotional response to data-based evidence shapes humanity’s relationship to a rapidly changing environment.
The American Psychological Association describes eco-anxiety as “fear of environmental cataclysm from observing the seemingly irrevocable impact of climate change.” Acknowledgement of eco-anxieties, including ecological grief, can lead to positive action, proactive adaptation and resilience. My intent is to prompt connections among science, history and culture, and generate conversations about the multiple challenges that humanity, and all living entities, face.
Sharing professional resources for climate-related mental health is part of my practice.