In my Afterglow series, layers of phosphorescent paint flicker as viewers seek out hidden aspects of the paintings with blacklight flashlights illuminating plants, insects, root systems, and things that exist at the margins of our ability to perceive them because they are invisible, delicate, or small. Made using the silhouettes of pressed grasses and forbs foraged from sites like the Prairie of the American Midwest, I combine the literal and fantastical in one image. This panoramic landscape immerses the viewer in a vast terrain.

I think of myself as an “unarchaeologist,” creating and accumulating layers of narrative and materials for viewers to disassemble. My process has two parts: Field Work and Poetic Output. I may research for months––foraging for plants, filming groundhog tunnels with arthroscopic cameras, gathering intricate histories––before constructing installations for the viewer to explore. I invite viewers to play the role of investigator as if the experience itself was “fieldwork” for them in the gallery, partaking in my process and making discoveries of their own.