The Wild Cosmos
“There is nothing you can see that is not a flower;
there is nothing you can think that is not the moon.
”
My parents were teachers with a great sense of adventure. They loved the outdoors, and each summer, our family of six piled into the Suburban with tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, and our small collection of 8-track tapes. For months, we’d wind our way across the country, from Maine to California – sleeping under the stars.
Nothing prepared me for when the stars--my mom, dad, and brother--fell from the sky. They say that breaths come in pairs, except at two times in our lives--the beginning and the end. I don’t believe it. I hold one for each of them.
Looking for light in the darkness, I retraced the cross-country trips of my youth and explored the backroads of Maine. I wanted to rekindle the wonder of my untethered childhood while remembering those I had lost. The Wild Cosmos pairs photographs with audio versions of my writing loosely based on my journal of field notes and dreams. The multi-sensory installation reconsiders grief as a natural, wonder-filled experience.
Nature is my portal to survival. Weaving through life and loss, the humble and the magical, the past and the present, I emerge resilient like the wild cosmos; a flower can thrive in almost any circumstance.
Joshua Tree, 2020
Not a Murmuration, 2020
Wild Night, 2020
Spanish Moss, 2019
Looking for You, 2019
Final Blue Note, 2020
Floating Heart, 2019
Hayfield, 2019
Morning Star, 2019
Lady Slipper, 2020
Moon Shadows, 2020
White-tailed Deer, 2018
Sea Smoke, 2018
Cirrus, 2018
Rear Window, 2019
Haven, 2018
Bear, 2019
Forgotten, 2018
Beach Glass, 2019
Compost, 2020
Torso, 2020
Charlotte, 2019
Fringe Tree, 2019
Bomb Cyclone, 2018
Queene Anne's Lace, 2020
Holding the Moon, 2019
Mountain Sunrise, 2019
Morning Dew, 2020
Long Leaf Pine, 2020
Seven Vultures, 2020
Raven, 2018
Nightfall, 2019
River Fire, 2019
Spirit Animal, 2018
Valley of Fire, 2020
Wolf, 2018
Indian Blanket Flower, 2020
Buttercups, 2019
Thirteen Birds, 2018
Weeping Cherry, 2020