​Seedling Series

This body of work reflects my interest in the interrelationship and communion between humanity and nature. It expresses my existential musings and intrigue with what constitutes 'life'. I'm fascinated with the idea that nascent seeds contain dormant energy and the potential to become vibrant, fleshy, visceral entities. In opposition to the seedling's impetus for growth there also exists an entropic, destructive energy. Is this impetus for death also contained in the seed? Or, is this energy from without? Each entity, human and plant, somehow innately contains, or is susceptible to, these opposing forces. The play and interaction between them is multilayered and complex, an adventure evidenced in all earthy manifestations. I'm fascinated with these questions and mesmerized with the whirling dance of potential energy and realized relationships between humanity and nature.

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The imagery in this work combines the intimate internal anatomy of the human body with that of seedpods, new growth and sprig structures. I view the human body itself as a complex seed pod where, like the seed, there is potential energy harbored within. This inherent potentiality sets the stage for a vast array of possibilities. The use of hybrid human/plant forms can be found in many different cultures and times, from Hittite and Babylonian symbolism, Mayan rituals, Vesalius's book De humani corporis fabrica, the writings of Goethe to the DC Comic super heroine the Black Orchid. The common theme running through the use of hybrid human/plant symbolism is the investigation of our connections to nature and the meanings that can be derived from those connections. My work continues this investigation. The imagery acts as metaphors for the complex alliance we share with nature; one that is mutual and symbiotic and loving but entropic.