Verdant Refuge, Hutchinson Center for the Arts, 2018

As Fall descends into Winter’s imminent approach, color and life are depleted from the formerly vibrant landscape. We seek refuge in the increasingly rare instances of such vibrancy. It is this reminiscence upon life—the demonstration of the power of natural cycles—that is presented in this work. Sourced from only five parent plants, the 257 spider plants (chlorophytum comosum) in attendance make clear their ability to proliferate—to both thrive and multiply. Capturing spider plant silhouettes upon legal pad pages then displaying them alongside actual plants—each accumulated to near absurdity—exemplifies the creative impulse behind the work; combining familiar items and imagery into large-scale installations transforms the space they inhabit as well as their ordinary meaning into something extraordinary. Both in color and form, the simultaneity of artifice and authentic establishes a contemplative environment in which to immerse the senses.